Your Call
by aThingwithWings
Summary: The next great thing since the betrayal of Aizen! Soul Society is under attack, but by whom? Not a oneshot! IchiRuki, of course. It's action-y. And romance-y
1. How Could You?

**EDIT:** fixed something that was pointed out to me...those silly captains! and as a reminder, if you see something wrong that should be fixed, don't be afraid to tell me. I'm not gonna bite your head off, pinky-swear.

Ok, so I hit a road block with Jefferson Airplane, so that's on haitus, and I had this ready since two days ago, but FF wouldn't let me on, something about the login malfunctioning....but anywho, here it is! Just so ya know, I'll refer to the captains as taicho and the vice-cap's as fukutaicho (? tell me if I'm wrong) and everyone will be addressed as the Japanese do it, last name first and first name last. I will also be captalizing the squads names, because I feel like it. Also, the time is after the Winter war, -but that's not important- and Ichigo's nineteen and in college. They haven't replaced the captain's yet, because I was too lazy to come up with some.

Anyway, this one was projected to be six chapters, but now its probably going to be double that, so stay tuned! (and review!)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!!! nothing at all!!! it all belongs to the genius that is Tite Kubo.... but if your reading this, Tite Kubo, could I like, be your apprentice or something???

* * *

Something snapped in the dark. Matsumoto whirled towards the unexpected sound, her hand resting lightly on Haineko's hilt. When no further noise emanated from the black alley, she chided herself for being so paranoid and continued on her way.

Sighing heavily, she cursed her captain for volunteering their squad for this ridiculous guard duty. Figures; he was the one who signed them up and who gets stuck running the whole operation? Not only was it night, it was in the creepiest part of the whole of Seireitei. She stuck out her lip in a pout; they didn't even know what it was they were risking their lives for. Matsumoto continued to grumble and bemoan her ill-fated vice-captain position as she approached the first guard post, which was lit by a small campfire. The men stood up quickly as she entered the fire-lit circle, their game of mahjong set flying to the ground.

Matsumoto inspected the area with a bored look, giving the toppled game a cursory glance before she turned to the eight men on guard. She could tell just from their countenances that nothing excited or noteworthy had happened, but she was instructed to ask anyway.

"Anything to report?" she inquired. The leader of the small group stepped forward to inform the vice-captain of the night's activities.

"As of midnight," he began, "there have been no incidents to report. The night has been quiet."

Matsumoto sighed. This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so boring. In her mind she could see an eternal night of mind-numbing post-checking. She kept reminding herself of the alternative: paperwork.

One of the men cleared his throat to get her attention. "Fuku-taicho? What is it we're guarding, exactly?"

Sighing heavily, she shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows? It was made by the Technological Department, though, so it really could be anything," she told them. The men chuckled uneasily, recalling the last endeavors of the Twelfth Squad, and how it had almost annihilated Soul Society. "But even though they made it, we have to be on our guard all the same, and protect it with our lives." Taking a quick glance at the sky, Matsumoto calculated the time – something she wasn't very adept at – and decided it best to keep moving. There were six other guard post stationed around the large warehouse, and she had to check in with each of them before the next shift. Once more she reminded the men to stay alert and then headed off into the darkness.

-

Five guard posts and a few hours later, Matsumoto approached the last station. It was now three in the morning, and she was bored, tired, hungry, and in need of a few drinks. For possibly the umpteenth time she mumbled curses at Hitsugaya, imagining ways she could get him back. Every single guard post had reported the exact same thing: nothing.

Even though nothing of interest had been reported, though, the night was silent, almost eerily so. From far away, an owl hooted, causing Matsumoto to jump. She admonished herself for being so paranoid and skittish. The last post was coming up and once she heard their report – which would consist of a whole lot of nothing – she could go home, take a bath, and go out for a couple drinks with Hisagi and Kira. Apparently, she thought to herself as she turned the corner, Hitsugaya-taicho's warning to be super careful was unneeded.

Matsumoto clapped a hand over her mouth, as if she had said the words out loud, and cursed herself inwardly. Those careless words had most likely just jinxed the whole operation. Quickly, she knocked on the nearest piece of wood she could find and walked just a little faster towards the last post.

In the distance, the warm, welcoming glow of a fire caught her eye. Breathing a sigh of relief, she decided to just go ahead and used shunpo – against her taicho's wishes; don't want to miss anything, do we? – to cover the rest of the ground between her and the last station.

"Jinxing," she muttered to herself. "What am I, eight?"

The closer Matsumoto drew to the last post, the acrid smell of smoke grew strong in her nose, growing proportionally with her unease. The once small campfire grew to a roaring blaze as she reached the station, devouring the post and the surrounding buildings. Matsumoto raised a hand to her face, shielding herself from the waves of searing heat emanating from the raging fire. She scanned the area for any sign of the men that were assigned there, wondering if any would still be alive.

Soon enough, she found them. With their throats slit and their bodies viciously stabbed.

"Whatcha lookin at?"

Instinctively, Matsumoto drew her sword, blocking the blow aimed for her back. She felt hot breath on her neck.

"You're faster than expected," the attacker sneered. She spun around to attack only to find her attacker gone.

"Over here!"

Matsumoto turned to her right, bringing Haineko up just in time to keep the intruder's sword from slicing through her. All she caught of his face was a leering grin before the night wind blew the smoke from the fire over them, effectively blocking him from her sight. Not wanting to be blindsided, Matsumoto used shunpo to evacuate the smoke-filled area. Once in the clear, she searched for the enemy's reiatsu, Haineko still in her hand.

"Who are you?" she called into the night, sensing her attacker off to her left. Suddenly, she heard him behind her, his quiet footsteps approaching her slowly. He was fast, much too fast for her. Cautiously, she turned to face him, Haineko held out in front of her protectively.

Her attacker was a man, but she already knew that. He wore a shinigami's shihakusho, although the cut was not one she'd seen anywhere in the Thirteen Squads. It was still familiar though, and Matsumoto racked her brain for where she had seen him before.

The man grinned mockingly at her. "Remember me?" he asked, still stepping closer to her. "It hasn't been that long, has it?"

Matsumoto stepped back a pace. How had she not seen it before? It took her all of two seconds to recognize the man standing in front of her. The hair, the sword. Had it really been that long ago that they'd seen each other that she'd forgotten what he looked like?

"Did you kill them?" she asked, her fingers tightening on Haineko's hilt in anticipation of his answer. He chuckled darkly, jerking his head in the direction of the fire.

"What, those nobodies?" he said scornfully. "They barely even knew how to hold a katana; they deserved to die."

His words were shocking. How could he say that? She wondered if for a minute her eyes were deceiving her, that this wasn't who she thought it was. Still in denial about her attacker's identity, she took another step back.

"Why are you here? What do you want?" she asked, trying to draw attention away from her movements. Perhaps if she got far away enough, she could try something.

He laughed, twirling his sword between his fingers lazily. "Why am I here? What do I want? I'm trying to steal whatever it is you're guarding, of course," he replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. He stopped spinning his sword, grasping it by the hilt firmly.

Matsumoto stalled for more time. "But why would you do this? I don't under-" He disappeared, reappearing in front of her. Matsumoto looked down only to see his sword sticking out of her stomach, crimson blood running down its pitch black blade. Haineko fell from her hands, clattering on the roof-tiles. Her eyes widened in shock; she hadn't even seen him move. Could he really be this powerful?

His mouth moved close to her head, until his lips were almost pressed against her ear. "Don't worry your pretty little head over those small, insignificant details," he whispered. "Let's just say that the Soul Society and I haven't always been on good terms, and it's time for a little payback." Slowly, he pulled his sword out, the blade leaving a dark red stain where it had been, more blood blossoming out from the hole it created. Matsumoto cried out in pain. She fell to her knees, hands clutching at the wound in her gut.

As he wiped his bloody sword on the sleeve of her shihakusho, he tilted his head slightly, as if listening to something far away.

"Your friends are coming," he informed her, resting his now cleaned blade on his shoulders. "Tell you what; I'll let you live," he said acting like he was doing her a big favor. He knelt down in front of her, resting his hand on her shoulder. "I was going to kill you, but I think it would be much better if you just passed along a message to the higher-ups. All you have to do is tell them who did this, okay?" He patted her roughly on the shoulder; Matsumoto bit her tongue to keep from screaming out in pain. He stood up and walked to the edge of the roof, then turned back to her as an afterthought.

"Catch ya later!" he called back to her. He then began jumping from rooftop to rooftop, using shunpo to quicken his escape.

Matsumoto collapsed to her side, her breath coming in heaving, ragged gasps. His reiatsu grew faint, until it was gone completely, as if he had gone back to the real world. A new reiatsu approached, this one a familiar, and it enveloped her like a large, soft blanket. Voices and multiple footsteps reached her ears, but she paid them no mind. She kept staring at the spot where he had been standing, still mute with disbelief.

How could he do this?

Consciousness began to slip from her grasp. Matsumoto fought back to dispel the black spots swimming in front of her eyes, hanging onto that last sliver of awareness with all she had left. She needed to stay awake, so she could tell them, she needed to tell them that….

Someone rolled her onto her back. Forcing all her remaining energy to bend to her will, she managed to open her eyes. The faces of those around her came into her blurred view.

"Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya yelled as the medical team began emergency treatment. "Matsumoto, what happened? Who did this?" Her mouth moved soundlessly, forming a single phrase over and over. Quickly, he leaned down, his ear almost pressed to his mouth, straining to hear what she was saying.

"Kurosaki," she was saying. "It was Kurosaki Ichigo."

Hitsugaya sat back, shocked. There was no way…was there? As the rest of the rescue squad finally caught up with him, he pushed his disbelief to the back of his mind and began barking out orders. As the men rushed to do his bidding, the Tenth Squad's third seat came up to him, unanswered questions written all over his face.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Take Matsumoto to the Fourth Squad," Hitsugaya instructed him, ignoring his question. He himself was having trouble understanding what had happened. The third seat didn't move, still shocked by the sight of the aftermath. "Now!" Hitsugaya snarled, sending him into a panicked rush. "Tell them she is top priority." He hurried to do his taicho's bidding, not sure why he was being so testy, besides the obvious.

"Hitsugaya-taicho, what happened?"  
Hitsugaya turned to find Kuchiki Byakuya and Abarai Renji, along with a dozen or so other Sixth Squad members, standing behind him.

He eyed them coldly, still trying to process everything that had just happened. "Why were you sent?"

Byakuya ignored Hitsugaya, who was apparently out of sorts, or he would never have addressed a fellow captain so rudely. "Abarai, begin putting out the fire and collecting any evidence that you can find."

"Hai," Renji replied, hurrying off to put out what was left of the fire, the rest of the squad following him. Byakuya then returned his attention to the white-haired captain, eyeing him coolly.

"Captain General Yamamoto sent us," he said, answering Hitsugaya's previous question. "We are to collect anything left behind by the intruder." Byakuya walked over to where Matsumoto had been laying. "What did she say to you?"

Hitsugaya crossed his arms across his chest, eyes clouded with emotion. "She told me who did this."

"And you do not believe her?"  
"I don't know what to believe," Hitsugaya answered truthfully. Byakuya could sense the confusion and disbelief warring inside him; it was playing out all across his countenance. "She said…she told me it was Kurosaki. Kurosaki Ichigo."

For a split second, Byakuya's eyes widened in shock, and then he returned to his normal stone cold façade. He knew the boy was a rebel, but…could he do this? Before he could reply, however, Renji appeared beside them.

"Taicho, we've identified the reiatsu of the intruder," he said quietly. "It's Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo."

That did it for Hitsugaya. The evidence was undeniable; in his mind, it was clear who the murderer was.

Kurosaki Ichigo.

-

The doors of the large room where the captains met were slammed open. Hitsugaya stormed into the chamber, Byakuya following him at a somewhat calmer pace. The ten captains – Unohana-taicho was busy healing Matsumoto – already assembled watched as the two walked in, somewhat disturbed by the look of fiery rage in the younger captain. Hitsugaya didn't bother with the pompous formalities as he addressed the Captain General.

"Kill him," he said, his voice thick with anger. No reaction came from the General. Around them, the rest of the captains looked on in surprise at Hitsugaya's statement. Captain General Yamamoto fixed his attention on Byakuya, ignoring Hitsugaya for the moment.

"Kuchiki-taicho," he said, his deep voice rumbling throughout the chamber like a peal of thunder. "Please enlighten us on the details Hitsugaya-taicho has so thoughtfully left out."

Hitsugaya glared at him, his emotions running unchecked. "How can you sit there calmly, as if nothing has happened? Matsumoto is dying and the man who did it is getting away! We need to-" A large, padded hand covered Hitsugaya's mouth, effectively gagging him. Looking up, his eyes met the beast-like eyes of Komamura-taicho. He struggled to get free, but Komamura just held him tighter.

"My apologies, General. Kuchiki-taicho, please continue."

Byakuya stepped forward. "Last night," he began, "the Tenth Squad was put in charge of guarding a technological instrument developed by the Twelfth Squad."

Mayuri crossed his arms sullenly. "Technological instrument," he snorted. "Trying to place all the blame on me…" Byakuya glared at him, and Mayuri's anger slowly withered away. The stoical captain returned to his previous recounting.

"At around one in the morning, Vice-captain Matsumoto Rangiku approached the seventh guard station in order to receive their report. Upon arrival, she found the post and the surrounding buildings engulfed in flames. The eight men stationed there were dead." He paused. "From what my squad discovered, they had all been brutally murdered."

Uneasy glances passed between the captains and hushed conversations sprung up around the room. Nothing like this had happened within the walls of Seireitei since Aizen's betrayal, and these occurrences worried them all. Yamamoto motioned for silence, once again giving Byakuya the floor.

"Please continue," he said. Byakuya nodded and picked up where he left off in his narrative.

"As far as we can tell, without asking Vice-captain Matsumoto herself, she was attacked shortly upon arrival at the station. A battle ensued, during which she was seriously wounded and incapacitated, allowing the attacker to get away. At this point, Hitsugaya-taicho, Abarai fuku-taicho and I arrived. We managed to put out the fire before it could spread into the surrounding areas and gave Matsumoto fuku-taicho emergency care."

Soi Fon spoke up before the rest of the captains could break out into conversation. "Has the attacker been identified?" she inquired.

Byakuya motioned towards the door. Renji entered, bowing respectfully as he reached where his captain was standing. "Abarai was in charge of checking the area for the enemy reiatsu. I have requested that he give you his report, so as for nothing to be misunderstood," Byakuya informed the others. Renji, still on his hands and knees, then related what he knew.

"As directed by Kuchiki-taicho, I and four seated officers examined the crime scene. We recovered the bodies of the eight men posted there, each killed by multiple stab wounds and by having their throats slit. We then used a device developed by the Technology department that can identify minute particles of reiatsu and were able to verify the identity of the attacker. It was," Renji swallowed his throat dry. "The reiatsu was identified as belonging to Kurosaki Ichigo."

There was an audible intake of breath, the captains both shocked and confused. Then the room was in uproar, some voicing their own opinion as to why Kurosaki would do such a thing, a few were in silent contemplation of the implications of such news; Mayuri was already talking about his execution, and the interrogation to come before that. Renji clenched his hands into fists, his own emotions still raging inside him. Everything he knew about Ichigo told him there was no way he could have done it; it went against everything Ichigo believed in and stood for. He searched for anything that would clear the name of his friend, but he came up empty; the evidence was undeniable.

Yamamoto pounded his staff into the ground, attempting to reclaim order. Slowly, the captains fell silent, still mulling over the information that had been presented to them. When all was once again still, the General addressed Renji.

"Abarai fuku-taicho, you said verify earlier," he recalled. "What exactly did you mean by that?"

Renji pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind for a moment. "Just before she was taken to receive medical care, Matsumoto fuku-taicho was able to relate one thing to Hitsugaya-taicho, and that was the identity of her attacker. She told him that it was Kurosaki Ichigo."

Yet again, the captains began yelling, the whole assembly in an uproar. The Captain General beat his staff upon the floor, striving to once again reclaim order. AS they settled down and peace was once again restored, each captain looked to the General for his verdict.

"Our first priority," he began after a brief pause. "Is to increase the shinigami guarding that device that Kurosaki Ichigo was attempting to steal." Mayuri voiced his agreement loudly, causing the other captains to glower at him.

"It's your fault we're in this mess in the first place," Soi Fon reminded him. Mayuri took the hint and shut up, allowing the General to continue.

"In accordance with that, each squad will assign a score of men, a third of which must be seated officers-"

"What is it we're guarding, exactly?" Koyraku asked, the General getting interrupted once again.

"Kurostuchi-taicho has requested that the identity of his device be kept confidential. Any more question?" The room was silent, the captains finally noticing how annoyed the Captain General was getting. "Good. Is the previous order understood?" Nine heads nodded. "Good. That order is in effect at the end of this meeting. Our second priority is the apprehension and trying of the accused, Kurosaki Ichigo."

For once, no shouting or errant comments accompanied his words; Yamamoto sighed in relief. Seeing no protests, he went on.

"Captains Soi Fon and Komamura with go to the real world along with a dozen Special Ops to retrieve Kurosaki. Use force if necessary, but do not kill him," he told them, looking at Soi Fon pointedly. He was not unaware of the captain's extreme dislike for the boy.

The two captains in question nodded, showing their acceptance of the order. "Also," Yamamoto went on, "we must assume that he is not working alone."

Ukitake made the connection immediately. "You can't be serious!" he exclaimed, forgetting for a moment who he was addressing. "We can't just arrest his whole family!"

"Not arrest, and not just his whole family," the Captain General said, ignoring Ukitake's disrespectful tone. "We are to put under house arrest his family and everyone in the real world associated with him and familiar with the Soul Society."

The captains waited patiently as he read off the list of names, even though they were all familiar. "Kurosaki Isshin, Kurosaki Karin, Kurosaki Yuzu, Ishida Uryu, Inoue Orihime, Sado Yasutora, and Kuchiki Rukia are to be put under house arrest until the situation at hand is resolved."

Renji stood up, incredulous. "That's ridiculous!" he yelled. "Rukia would never-"

"Silence!" Yamamoto thundered, causing everyone to step back. "Do not forget who it is you are talking to. My word is final!" Renji bowed, shocked he had addressed the Captain General in such a brash manner. He was certain that Rukia had nothing to do with this, but his opinion was not worth making an enemy of the General.

"If there are to be no more interruptions," the Captain General growled, glaring at all present. "As well as the aforementioned, we must place a watch at the residence of Urahara Kisuke. I am sure you all understand why." The captains nodded obediently, not wanting to invoke the General's rage. "Vice-captains Hisagi and Kira will accompany the captains to the real world along with three dozen of the Special Ops forces. They will be in charge of watching those under house arrest. Soi Fon-taicho, Komamura-taicho, you are dismissed to go inform and gather your forces."

The two captains bowed, and then exited the chamber swiftly, Komamura dropping Hitsugaya to the ground roughly. The remaining seven captains looked to Yamamoto for any further commands. Hitsugaya, having been freed by Komamura, glared at the Captain General, angry with him for not letting him be the one to capture Kurosaki.

This stare did not go unnoticed by Yamamoto. "Hitsugaya-taicho, when Kurosaki is retrieved, you are to be the one in charge of the interrogation process."

Ukitake, always the voice of reason, stepped up before the other captain could reply. "Are you positive this is a wise decision, considering it was his squad that was attacked?"

Yamamoto closed his eyes briefly, imagining a perfect world where his subordinates did not question his every word. Was it so hard to realize he actually did know what he was doing?

After a brief pause, he spoke. "I trust Hitsugaya-taicho's judgment inexplicably. I know he will not let his emotions control his decision making." The Captain General locked eyes with Hitsugaya, wordlessly telling the white-haired captain not to make a liar out of him, or there will be serious consequences. Hitsugaya understood the gravity of this decision, nodding his head slightly in understanding.

Yamamoto now addressed all present. "You are dismissed. The first guard shift begins immediately." The captains all filed out of the meeting room, each heading towards their respective squads.

Hitsugaya watched the others leave, lost in his own thoughts. The evidence had convinced him fully. He hoped he was wrong, but if Kurosaki had indeed done it, there would be hell to pay.

* * *

How intense!! Oh, by the by, IchiRuki s the only couple I'm shipping, but if you read into it and see others, fine by me. Oh, and I'm having issues with two things : 1- what it is the vice-cap's are called 2- how to properly name the Captain General. I might end up calling him commander or something.....

that's it, I guess, just don't forget to review!! and I updated my profile like everyday or so, so check in for story information

p.s.- if anyone has a good evil sounding Japanese name, I am taking suggestions!

p.p.s.- this story is sort of based off of the song "Your Call" by Secondhand Serenade (which I do not own). I got the idea for this story from the first lines, "waiting for your call, call I'm sick, call I'm angry" and this one phrase that popped into my head "I miss you". Hope I didn't give anything away, cuz that was pretty general.


	2. The Secret's In The Telling

Yay! Its finally the second chapter! Thanks for waiting so patiently!

But anywho...I apologize ahead of time for the sleeping bags. I was reading Hitchihiker's guide to the galaxy at the time and well...you'll understand when you get there. Also, this chapter is pure IchiRuki fluff. It wasn't going to be, but it ended up being longer than expected, so yeah...but next chapter wont! Don't forget to review! ...or I'll hunt you down...Jk!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters. Tite Kubo does.

* * *

Wake up.

Shower.

Breakfast.

School.

Argue with Rukia and miss the lesson.

Lunch.

Kill a hollow.

More school.

Drop Rukia off at home.

Go to work.

Spend the next six hours waiting tables.

Smart-mouth a customer.

Almost get fired.

Go home.

Block a kick to the face.

Eat dinner.

Do homework.

Sleep.

Wake up at an obscene hour and kill hollows.

Sleep some more.

This is Ichigo's life.

-

Friday -

Ichigo slammed the door behind him, not even bothering to announce he was home. His father took care of that quite nicely.

"Ichigooooo-!" Kurosaki Isshin yelled, launching a flying-spiral kick of death at Ichigo's head. Calmly, Ichigo grabbed his father's foot and threw him into the nearest wall, sending the pictures hung there crashing to the floor.

Isshin gave Ichigo a thumbs up. "Good job, my son! I have nothing left to teach you!" he exclaimed form his position on the floor. Ichigo gave his immature father a withering glare and then continued on his way to the kitchen.

His sisters greeted him in a much more normal way, like actual human beings. Yuzu waved at him, pot scrubber in hand – he had missed dinner, again – and Karin gave a small nod of acknowledgment before returning her attention back to her book.

"How was work?" Yuzu inquired, going back to the dishes.

Already busy raiding the refrigerator, Ichigo's reply came back as a muffled "Fine". Working as a waiter was not exactly the most exciting thing in his life, hence the short reply. He quickly located the plate of leftovers Yuzu had so thoughtfully saved for him. "Is Rukia here?" he asked, popping the food into the microwave.

"Yeah," Karin replied, turning the page languidly. Suddenly, as if remembering, she turned around in her chair to face him. "Oh, Ichi-nee," she said. "Are you building something in your room?"

Ichigo shook his head slowly, not sure where she was going with this. "No. Why?"

She shrugged. "No reason. Rukia had some tools so I was just wondering…" By this time, Karin and Yuzu had gotten quite used to the strange antics of their brother and his houseguest, so a few power tools entering the house were not something to get excited over.

The microwave beeped. Ichigo quickly removed the now heated plate of food out and hurried to get to his room. There was no telling what Rukia had done in the six or so hours she had been left alone.

He called back down a quick "Thanks!" before bounding up the last couple of steps. As he drew closer to his room, the sounds of construction became evident. He quickened his pace.

Ichigo threw open his door, the room within enshrouded in darkness. Large, metallic shapes that could barely be identified littered the floor, and Rukia was nowhere in sight.

"Rukia!" thundered Ichigo, reaching for the light switch. Almost instantly the noise stopped, and Rukia flung open the closet door.

"Don't touch that!" she chastised, slapping his outstretched hand away from the switch. Ichigo jumped back, nursing the smarting appendage as best he could while still holding the steaming plate of food. Ichigo pushed passed her angrily, traveling further into the darkened room.

"What was that for-" Only a few steps in, Ichigo tripped over one of the unidentified masses, unable to finish his sentence. With ninja-like skills – or, death god-like skills – he caught himself before he went into a full face-plant.

Rukia turned the lights on as he regained his balance, and Ichigo finally saw what it was that was taking up all his floor space.

Ichigo's first thought had been "Good god, they're dead bodies". He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that they were not human remains, but big, shiny power tools. After a few mental images had assaulted his thoughts, he quickly decided bodies would have been better.

"Rukia, where'd you get these?"He gestured to the plethora of tools.

She rolled her eyes. "Urahara's, where else?"

"Oh great!" Ichigo scoffed. "So what's the catch? Is there a hidden camera on one of these? Or is this yet another thing that will get us arrested by the Soul Society?" He exclaimed as he examined each nook and cranny of a drill.

Shaking her head, Rukia replied as if he was the crazy one. "Don't flip a biscuit. Urahara assured me that these were genuine-one-hundred-percent real world tools- "

"Cause we all know how reliable his word is-"

"-with a few adjustments."

Ichigo pointed a finger at her accusatorily. "Ha! I knew it! He did modify them so they're creepy soul tools!"

"No they're not!" Rukia yelled, snatching the drill from his hands. "All the adjustments are very useful and applicable to our lives!"

"Yeah," Ichigo snorted, "like what?"

"Well," she began, holding up the drill. "This one can open up a portal directly to the western area of Rukongai. And this one," she held up a small handsaw, "is powerful enough to cut through the sekki-seki that makes up the wall surrounding Seireitei and the Tower of Penitence. And this one-"

"Enough," Ichigo said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I get it." As he was about to begin eating his now lukewarm plate of food, he realized he still didn't know what she was doing with all the tools. Vowing to stay calm, he took a deep breath and asked her.

"So, what exactly are you doing?"

Rukia climbed back into the closet. "Oh, I just installed a couple light fixtures-"

"What?!" Ichigo exclaimed, his previous vow all but forgotten. To be honest, it wasn't that big of a deal to him, but he felt like making it one.

"It gets dark in here!" Rukia said, defending herself. Ichigo smacked his forehead in exasperation.

"It's supposed to get dark, it's a friggin' closet!"

"Well its not anymore, is it?

"Fine," he said, relenting to her logic. "But don't you think a lamp would have sufficed? Isn't all this a bit overboard?"

She looked at him, pure innocence. "So the computer I installed is a bit overboard as well?"

"Rukia!"

-

Downstairs, the remainder of the Kurosaki household listened as the two bickered. For Karin, it had become a commonplace thing, as it happened almost everyday. Yuzu was still a little unnerved by the frequency of the arguments, but was handling them alright. Isshin, on the other hand, was plastered to the giant poster of Masaki, lamenting that "the children are fighting again!".

Karin threw a wadded up napkin at him. "Shut up, Goat-chin!" Isshin then began wailing about how his daughters didn't love him anymore. The dark-haired girl decided to drop it and ignored her father and his incessant bleating.

Sighing, Karin tried refocusing on her required reading for English, a European book titled 1984. She had half the book to read before Monday and there was no way she was going to finish before her soccer tournament this weekend with those two bickering. Placing a slip of paper into the book to save her place, she began to make her way up to her brother's room. Some nights, it was fun to instigate fights between the two, but she hadn't realized they could fight about lights for so long.

This argument had gone on long enough; it was time for an intervention, or nobody would sleep tonight.

"Oi, you two!" She said upon reaching Ichigo's open doorway. The two in question were at each other's throats, almost literally. Their arms moved about in wild gesticulations, matching the fervor in their voices. Taking a cursory glance of the room, Karin noticed the veritable cornucopia of tools on the floor, and Ichigo's dinner, sitting forgotten on his desk.

"Ichigo! Rukia!" Karin yelled, louder than before. Finally, they looked her way, acting as if nothing special had happened. _The sad thing is_, Karin thought to herself, _is that this is pretty ordinary._ "Listen, I know how much you guys enjoy fighting and all, but this is getting pretty ridiculous. Some of us actually need to sleep, so it would be much appreciated if you would both knock it off."

Ichigo and Rukia watched as Karin made her way back down the stairs. As if on cue, they both went to their respective corners and, back turned toward the other, changed into their nightwear.

"Tomorrow's Saturday," Ichigo reminded his raven-haired friend.

"Baka, I knew that."

"Do you know what you want to do? It's your Saturday…"

"Of course I do! I've been planning this all week."

"Alright, geez, don't bite my head off…Do you have your breakfast order?"

"Yes. Pancakes."

"That's it? Are you sure-"

"It's my Saturday, I can do what I want, and I want pancakes."

"Fine."

Ichigo got up and turned off the lights as Rukia clambered into her bed. He barely made it back to his bed alive, due to the tools still being scattered on the floor. Probably, he'd be the one picking them up in the morning.

"Goodnight," Rukia called cheerfully from her closet.

" 'night." Crawling under the covers, Ichigo prepared himself for a long, peaceful sleep.

A peace which was immediately broken by the raucous shrieking of his shinigami badge.

"Aw crap," Ichigo groaned as Rukia jumped out of the closet, her gigai already discarded. Ichigo quickly followed suit and before long the two were leaping out across the rooftops.

-

Saturday -

The alarm went off a little before six am. Hurriedly, Ichigo turned it off, so as to not wake up anyone else in the household, and in doing so, fell out of bed. Cursing under his breath, he picked himself up off the floor, and promptly tripped over a discarded jigsaw. Once again stifling obscenities, Ichigo sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. As soon as the fog of unconsciousness had fully exited his mind, Ichigo carefully got up and picked his way across the room. Hoping his earlier falls had not awoken anyone, he slipped out the door, shutting it softly behind him, and tiptoed down the stairs.

Upon reaching the kitchen, he got out the necessary utensils and ingredients for the making of pancakes. In due time, Ichigo had a healthy stack of the breakfast dish, and began cleaning up, putting everything back in the same place he had found it, so as to leave no trace of his being there. Satisfied with the erasing of his presence, Ichigo then ascended the stairs and reentered his room.

Outside, the sun was just beginning to rise, lighting the room in various hues of orange and pink. Ichigo, after having made his way through the maze of tools, found Rukia to be in his bed, the covers pulled to her chin.

"I'm gone for twenty minutes, and she's already relocated and asleep," he muttered. Louder, he said, "Oi, Rukia! Breakfast!"

One eye cracked open, glaring at him. "Wake me up nicer," she grumbled, closing her eye and rolling over. Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation, then, sighing, he set the plate on the desk next to his bed, right beside his uneaten dinner.

Carefully, he placed one hand on either side of Rukia's "sleeping" form, then he lowered himself until his lips barely brushed the fair skin of her neck. Slowly, he then proceeded to lightly kiss his way up the side of her throat, feeling her body shiver at his touch. When he reached the hollow where her jaw met her throat, he whispered "Wake up love; the sun came to see you." Ichigo continued hi s journey along her jaw-line, until Rukia interrupted him by rolling over and kissing him gently on his mouth.

"That will suffice," she said, pushing him off of her. Scowling, Ichigo stood up and picked up her plate of breakfast.

"You never let me finish," he groused as he handed it to her. Rukia only smiled devilishly at him and proceeded to consume her pancakes, causing him to sigh in frustration and sit down heavily in his desk chair. She stifled a laugh at his antics.

Rukia chewed thoughtfully as she watched him from her perch on the bed. Morning was really her favorite part of the day; it was the only time Ichigo's – dare she say it – _romantic_ side made an appearance. Sure, it would show itself periodically throughout the day, but it truly came out of hiding at the start of the day. Rukia chuckled inwardly; it was humorous to think about Ichigo this way.

The man in question stared at her like she was crazy. Apparently she had laughed outwardly as well. "What's so funny midget?" he grumbled. A muffled "nothing" was heard, in spite of the food in her mouth. Rukia knew what buttons to push to aggravate him; terse replies happened to be one of them.

Ichigo knew when she was pushing him; that's why he was trying his hardest to stay sullen and angry at her, though day by day that was becoming a hard task. He glanced at her as she happily munched her pancakes. Had it really been less than a year ago that this all started? Mentally, he ran through the timeline: January – Aizen defeated; February – Winter War finally won, the rest of the arrancar having been routed out; March – Mass funeral for all the dead of the war, including the enemy. Ichigo smiled as he remembered how afterwards he had taken Rukia aside and confessed his feelings for her, which, looking back, was probably not the best time to do that.

His reminiscence was broken off by a punch to the ribs. "Oi, baka," Rukia said. "Get dressed." Apparently, Ichigo really had been lost in his thoughts, as Rukia was already dressed and ready to leave, while he was still in his pajamas.

"Urusai," he growled, hopping out of the chair and stomping over to his dresser.

Unfortunately, a large drill had decided to make its home in his path, and, inevitably, Ichigo tripped over it. This sent Rukia into fits of uncontrollable laughter.

-

"I'm going on ahead, you can catch up!"

"Rukia, wait dammit!" Ichigo thrust the required amount of bills into the hands of the man working the ice cream cart. "Keep the change!" He called back over his shoulder as he sprinted to catch up with Rukia's retreating figure. The man counted the money given him, and, upon finding twice as much as was owed, waved vigorously at Ichigo in thanks.

When Ichigo caught up with Rukia, she calmly handed him his ice cream cone, already working on her own. Looking at her suspiciously, he warily reached for the cone.

"What? No consequences, trivia, injuries, begging, no nothing? You're just going to give it to me?" Ichigo said.

Rukia looked at him innocently. "Of course not! Why would I ever do such a thing?" Not wanting to argue about all the times in the past she had done things like that, Ichigo shut up and began eating his ice cream.

"Why do you always get strawberry?" He asked after a few minutes of silence. She shrugged in reply, casually slipping her arm in his.

"It has absolutely nothing to do with your name, if that's what you mean," she said. "Don't be so vain."

They continued to stroll slowly through the park. The verdant colors of spring were slowly recapturing the landscape, chasing away the dross of winter. Small animals had returned from their long sleep, reanimating the budding trees and shrubs. To their right, the large pond that sat in the center of the park was once again filling up with a plethora of water fowl, accompanied by crowds of people with bread in their hands.

"Why do you like this place so much?" Ichigo asked, licking his cone absentmindedly.

"Baka," Rukia replied, her words partnered with an elbow to his stomach. "You know why. Our first date was here."

Ichigo's face paled. "You still remember that?"

"Is that a serious question?" Rukia scowled at him. "How in the world would I forget the place where you finally confessed that you loved me?" She smiled faintly at the memory. Ichigo frowned.

"I'm not sure if you can call it an actual date," he said, the memory of that day playing in his head.

"Oh, why not?"

He pulled a face. "If I remember correctly, you thought I was Kon and shoved me into that pond," he jerked his finger in the direction of said body of water.

"At least I helped you out afterwards," she reminded him, not even denying that she had done it.

By this time they had managed to find a small bench, partly walled off from the rest of the park by a large rhododendron bush.

"But I was still pushed into the pond," Ichigo was saying, letting Rukia sit before he took his seat.

She rolled her eyes at him over her ice cream. "Stop being such a pansy, you only got a little wet."

"Whatever," he sullenly replied.

Slowly, the spring day began to pass. Seconds turned into minutes, and those would eventually turn into hours, and on into days, but they did not sit there long enough for that to happen. After a few minutes of silence, they began reminiscing of days gone by, of battles that had been fought, of friends being saved. Frequently, an argument would start over who saved who, and who defeated who, but these disputes were quickly settled through either name calling or physical violence. After one of these arguments, long after the cones had been devoured, Rukia turned to Ichigo and stated "I love you." A few moments of silence followed this abrupt comment, and then was followed by an "I love you to" from her male companion. Needless to say – but I will say it, for your benefit – his words were accompanied by a slow movement towards her mouth. Gladly, she returned his invitation, until they were rudely interrupted by the incessant beeping of both Rukia's spirit pager and Ichigo's deputy badge.

"Aw come on!" Ichigo complained loudly and Rukia checked the readout on her pager. "Can't we let Afro-guy take care of it today?" A small piece of paper was waved in his face. Snatching it out of Rukia's hands, he read it only to find that the hollow was a high level one, apparently too high for Mr. Afro.

"We've got to go," Rukia told him, grabbing her soul candy dispenser from her pocket. Ichigo did likewise, and soon they were giving instructions to Chappy and Kon, respectively.

"And none of that funny business we had last time; I realize you're a guy and she's a girl, but we will have none of that!" Kon harrumphed.

"I realize previously that I asked you to restrain him, but that command no longer stands; please don't touch him." Chappy rolled her eyes.

Without further delay, the two shinigami sped off towards the attacking hollow.

"Do you think they'll behave?"

"Not a chance. I just wish they wouldn't do it in our bodies…"

-

"Hurry up, it's already getting dark!"

Two sleeping bags found themselves roughly thrown onto the roof of the Kurosaki house. They were closely followed by Ichigo, who had at last managed to climb out his window and heave himself onto the roof. Rukia was already waiting for him, a blanket wrapped tightly around her small form. Ichigo hauled himself over to her side, breathing heavily.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? Are the melodramatics necessary?"

Catching his breath, Ichigo jabbed his finger in the direction of the sleeping bags. "It's harder than you make it look, and besides, those things hate me."

"They're inanimate objects; they're not capable of hating anyone." He scowled in reply.

Behind them, the objects in question were busy plotting how to make Ichigo's life miserable, because they did, in fact, hate him. But I digress.

The west was finally losing its last tinges of pink, turning instead a dark purpley-blue, then on to a deeper black. Already the stars were beginning to dot the sky, and it was to these that Rukia turned her expectant eyes. Ichigo began unrolling the sleeping bags.

"Ichigo, when's it going to start?"

"Anytime midget, just be patient."

"But you said-"

"I know what I said! These things aren't exactly on a set schedule."

Silence settled over the night like a thick blanket, broken occasionally by a whisper from the two people on the roof. Deciding it was getting much to cold outside, Ichigo and Rukia had crawled into their sleeping bags, for more comfortable stargazing. Ichigo was fumbling with the zipper on his sleeping bag, as it appeared to have gotten stuck, when Rukia saw the first one.

"There! I saw it!" She exclaimed, pointing her finger at a spot in the night sky. Abandoning the infuriating zipper, Ichigo quickly followed Rukia's finger to the sky, just catching the last bit of a comet's tail. Expectantly, the two watched the sky for more of the falling stars; their patience was soon rewarded.

Blazing streaks of light began to crisscross the sky. First one to two, then quickly growing to six to nine, and piquing at twenty to thirty. The meteors' radiance played in their eyes, across their faces, causing them to smile in wonderment. Rukia attempted to make a wish on all of them, but this task soon became improbable due to the number of stars falling before them.

Rukia gasped as a relatively large one raced across the sky. "It's so beautiful," she breathed. As the last trace of its tail was fading from her eyes, she asked Ichigo what the time was, to which he replied that it was one – fourteen. Happy that it was still fairly early, she continued to gape at the spectacle above them. Ichigo contemplated saying something extremely corny, like comparing her beauty to the stars and whatnot, but thought better of it and kept quiet, shifting around in his sleeping bag to get more comfortable. He figured they could probably be here all night.

Unfortunately, the stars thought otherwise. Apparently, they have a bedtime, because as it was nearing two o'clock, the numbers of the shooting stars dwindled drastically, until there was one every minute or so. Then, at exactly two, they stopped altogether. Rukia huffed in annoyance.

"Why'd they stop?" she asked, pouting.

Sighing, Ichigo placed his hands behind his head, preparing for sleep. "They can't just go on forever," he said. "Nothing does." And with that, he closed his eyes. Rukia glanced over at him, frowning; she had been prepared to stay up all night. Seeing as it was no longer Saturday though, she couldn't order him to stay up, so she admitted defeat and also closed her eyes.

"Goodnight baka."

" 'Night midget."

* * *

Ah, so sweet! I just love those two...

Anywho, be prepared for some action! And in case you didn't catch it, the previous chapter started early Sunday morning, this one starts late evening Friday. I promise I'll be quicker with the next update!


	3. I Wonder If It's Me

Holy crap I haven't been on here in forever!

I feel really bad...and even worse because I've had this chapter written for like, a week, but have been to lazy to type it up XP

But here's the third chapter, its a little short, but I'll make up for it in the next chapters!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Tite Kubo does.

* * *

Early morning sunlight flooded the sleeping town of Karakura. People were just beginning to stir, shops were being opened, delivery trucks were just beginning to make their rounds. A street cleaner rumbled down the street, running late after its driver slept in. It raced down the road, trying to get back on schedule, its engines screaming under the stress; it was this that roused Ichigo from his pleasant sleep, and an even more pleasant dream.

Blearily, he sat up and yawned till he felt his jaw pop. Continuing with his morning routine, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and slowly brought his watch to his face. The numbers were still a little blurry, so he blinked a few times until they came into focus, and saw the time to be nearing seven o'clock. Ichigo sighed deeply. It was much too early to be getting up on a Sunday morning. After taking a quick glance to his left, he saw that Rukia was still asleep, and cursed her for being able to sleep through that stupid street cleaner.

Ichigo kicked the sleeping bag off, quite ready to be rid of the thing. He pushed himself up to his feet, stretching again. Weak dawn light brushed his skin with gold; he stood still for a moment, soaking in the warmth offered. Stiffly, Ichigo walked across the roof, once glancing back at the still slumbering Rukia before he lowered himself off the roof and into his room.

-

Soi Fon and Komamura stood on a street corner, staring at the sign above them.

"Is this his street?"

"I don't know."

"Haven't you been here before?"

"Yes…but not to his house, exactly. Can't you sense him? He's quite wretched at concealing his reiatsu."

"Fine."

Komamura lifted his great muzzle, parting his jaws slightly. Beside him, Soi Fon waited, idly examining her fingers, irked at their inability to find the place. Hisagi and Kira waited behind them with the rest of the special ops forces.

A minute passed in absolute silence. Suddenly, Komamura's eyes snapped open, the great golden orbs focusing on a distant place.

"Found him," he growled. In a second, they were off speeding through the waking city. In a matter of moments they stopped above the Kurosaki residence.

"This it?"

"It should be."

"Good. I'll go in. You, follow me." Soi Fon and a squad of men leapt into action, entering in through the still open window.

Ichigo's back was towards the window, so he did not notice Soi Fon until her foot connected with the back of his head. The second captain looked on with disgust as Ichigo collapsed to the floor, unconscious. She snapped her fingers, and at once the men were at her side.

"Remove his soul and take it outside," she ordered, heading for the window. One of the men quickly produced a badge, not unlike the one given to Ichigo, and pressed it to the orange-haired man's chest. Ichigo's soul was separated from his body, and they proceeded to tie him up, after removing Zangetsu from his back. Four of them carried Ichigo's soul out the window; the others busied themselves by shoving his lifeless body into the closet.

Once outside, the hefty Komamura relieved the men of their burden, heaving Ichigo over his shoulder, much like one would to a sack of potatoes. Soi Fon motioned to Kira and Hisagi, who quickly stepped forward, their hands on their sword hilts.

"You two are now the commanding officers here," she told them. "I'm sending a score of men to Urahara's shoten to set up a perimeter, but the rest are under your command. Under no circumstances is anyone allowed to leave the premises, unless it's to be escorted back to Soul Society. Understand?"

The vice-captain's nodded stiffly. Hisagi caught a reassuring glance from Komamura and relaxed slightly.

"Let's go," the beast-like captain said, and in a flash they had done so. For a second the others stood still, and then Hisagi began barking out orders.

"Alright! I need a score of you to set up a perimeter around the house! You heard the captain, no one in, and no one out, unless they've got a shinigami escort. As for the rest of you, you are to finish rounding up everyone left on the list. For those who didn't listen, its Sado Yasutora, Inoue Orihime, and Ishida Uryu." Kira added for effect, "Now get moving!"

The shinigami hurried to carry out orders, while Kira and Hisagi joined the group tracking down the others.

-

Rukia sat up with a start. Quickly, she scanned the area around her, trying to find the source of whatever had awoken her. Her brows furrowed and she harrumphed when she saw that Ichigo was already up and gone. "That idiot," she muttered darkly, "never wakes me up…" She left the sleeping bag where it was and stiffly walked over to the edge of the roof. Nimbly, Rukia swung herself in through the window, landing lightly on Ichigo's bed.

Fully expecting to be reprimanded for her actions, Rukia prepared a witty and scathing comeback to whatever Ichigo would say. When nothing came, she looked up, surprised.

The room was empty. "Ichigo?" she said, tentatively. Rukia repeated his name again, louder, and when he did not reply, the alarms started going off in her head. Instinctively she felt for her Chappy dispenser, ready for anything. All senses were on the alert, straining for the slightest noise, the tiniest movement. Suddenly, she noticed that the closet door was closed; last night, she was positive she had left it open. Rukia tiptoed across the room, and in one swift movement pulled open the closet door.

Without warning, Ichigo's now soulless body tumbled from the closet, knocking Rukia over. She stifled a scream and scrambled out from under the lifeless form.

The room was dead silent. Wide-eyed, Rukia gazed at the body before her, trying to work out what had happened. He would never have gone on a mission alone…She did not have to think for long; at that moment, Kon made his appearance from under the bed.

"Nee-san!" he cried, tears streaming from his little bead eyes. "I'm so glad you're here!"

Rukia peered down at the plush lion attached to her chest. "Kon, what happened?" she asked, peeling him off of her.

Kon sniffed, fear in his eyes. "The-they took Ichigo!" he bawled, fresh tears falling.

"Who did? Who took Ichigo?"

For the second time that morning Rukia was spared the trouble of thinking about it. As soon as the words escaped her mouth, she sensed someone behind her. Slowly, she turned around, Kon still in her hand, dreading what she would see. There, just climbing through the window, were Kira and Hisagi. Rukia stared speechless as they walked further into the room.

"Wha-what's going on?" she finally managed to stammer out, forgetting for a moment she was addressing vice-captains.

The two shinigami glanced at each other, unsure of how to start. "Kuchiki Rukia, " Hisagi began, hesitantly. "By law of Soul Society, we are to place you under house arrest, pending the investigation and trail of Kurosaki Ichigo."

Rukia was shell-shocked, and nearly lost her balance. Hisagi and Kira looked at her sympathetically.

"But…what did he do? Why am I being held as a prisoner?" she questioned, quickly regaining her composure.

"I don't know if we can-" Kira started to say, staring at the floor, but Rukia cut him off.

"I don't care what you were told," she said, beginning to get worked up. "I demand as a Kuchiki to know under what accusation I am being held, and why Ichigo was taken." Kira stepped back, surprised by the force of her will.

Hisagi answered hurriedly, looking Rukia directly in the eye. "Last night, the Seireitei was attacked. A squad of soldiers from the tenth squad was brutally murdered, and Matsumoto fuku-taicho was seriously wounded."

"But what does that have to do with us?"

"The reiatsu found at the scene was identified as belonging to Kurosaki Ichigo." He held up his hand to prevent Rukia from interrupting once again. "As of now, unless other evidence is found and brought forward, Kurosaki is the prime suspect of the murders last night. Also, it has been assumed that it is unlikely he was working alone. In light of this, any of his friends who are familiar with the Soul Society are also under suspicion of being his accomplice."

Silence followed Hisagi's words as Rukia worked on processing the information before her.

"What if no evidence is found," she said slowly, "that proves his innocence?"

"Then he is deemed guilty, and must suffer the consequences of his crimes."

"Which is?"

"Death," Kira said quietly.

Rukia paled. It was not as if she had not seen it coming, but hearing the words made it all the more real. "So does that mean everyone – Ishida, Inoue, and Sado – is a suspect?"

As if in answer to her question, the doorbell rang. There was a hush in Ichigo's room as they heard the confused voices of the Kurosaki's welcoming in the said suspects. Rukia turned to see the vice-captains making for the window.

"Wait!" she cried. "I don't-"

"Listen," Hisagi said, feeling pity for Rukia's predicament. "Make this easy on yourself; forget Kurosaki." As an afterthought, he added, "Oh, and if any of you leave this house unescorted, you'll be in violation of Seireitei's law and will be placed under arrest." And with that he was gone, just in time for the door to open and admit the other prisoners into the room. The first thing they noticed was Ichigo's body lying on the floor, bringing a variety of reactions from the three. Rukia had never heard Ishida curse like that.

"Kuchiki-san!" he exclaimed, finally noticing her standing in the center of the room. "What are you doing here? Why's Kurosaki's body on the floor, and more importantly, what the hell is going on?"

Rukia sat down heavily on the end of Ichigo's bed, holding her face in her hands. How was it possible that things had gone so wrong so fast? Just yesterday everything had been fine, well, more than fine, and now…She looked up into the expectant faces of her friends.

"They took Ichigo. He's under arrest for murder and…we're being held as accomplices," she told them, as calmly as possible. For a second they thought she was joking, that this was all some elaborate prank, but one look at her countenance told them otherwise. Orihime fell to her knees and started crying. Following in order to comfort her, Ishida knelt down beside her, tentatively placing a hand around her shoulders, his mouth pressed in a tight line, eyes staring sightlessly ahead. Chad just stood in place, dumbfounded. After everything they had done for Soul Society and the shinigami, just to have them turn on them so quickly…it was just so illogical.

"Does his family know?" Ishida finally managed to ask, after the initial shock had worn off.

Rukia shook her head. "No, but…I think they should." Standing up, Rukia headed for the door. She paused, her hand resting on the handle; she really wanted to give them hope, a plan of action, but it was all she could do to just keep standing. Sighing, she opened the door and slowly walked down the hallway.

Halfway to the stairs, Rukia was intercepted by Karin. They stared at each other, Rukia unsure what to say. Then Karin broke the silence for her.

"Where's Ichigo?"

Taking a deep breath, Rukia told her the truth. Everything.

-

Ichigo woke with a splitting headache, his mouth dry, tongue swollen. Blearily, he looked around, finding himself on a cold stone floor. A few feet away was a lonely looking wooden chair, but at this point getting up was out of the question, let alone standing up and walking. Eyes closed now, he let himself wake up more, thinking through where he most likely was: jail.

When the pounding in his head had gone down somewhat, he focused on making sure every body part was still attached and working. Toes, feet, legs: check. Fingers, hands, arms: check. He gingerly felt his chest and stomach, but most of the pain seemed to be coming from his head.

Slowly he began to sit up, still keeping his eyes closed. When he didn't immediately fall over or throw up, he opened his eyes, seeing first the bars to his right and then the white-haired man beyond them. Ichigo gently fingered the back of his head, feeling the fist-sized bump. Fiery pain shot through him when he touched it, so he thought it best to leave it be.

"So who got me?" he asked, addressing the man outside the cell.

Hitsugaya folded his arms across his chest. "I hear it was Soi Fon," he replied, staring at Ichigo. "Do you know why you are here?" he said after some time had passed. Ichigo ran a hand through his hair, exhaling loudly.

"Nope. Not a clue," he replied shrugging. "You gonna tell me?"

The young captain ground his teeth together. "Don't play the fool, Ichigo," he growled.

"No, seriously," Ichigo said, thoroughly confused. "I have no idea as to why I was arrested."

The room was silent as Hitsugaya regained his composure. "Last night," he began, determined not to let his emotions get the best of him, "shinigami were murdered. Much of the Twelfth district was demolished. And Matsumoto was nearly killed." He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "And you know who she said did this?" Without waiting for a reply to his rhetorical question, he said, "You. She told me Kurosaki Ichigo did this. That is why you are here."

"That's crazy!" Ichigo shouted, bolting up. Not the greatest idea, because as soon as he stood up he had to sit down or he would have passed out. He managed to find the chair he had seen earlier, and quickly collapsed into it. "You can't honestly believe that I would do this, can you?" he gasped.

Hitsugaya looked angrily at him, saying nothing. Ichigo slumped back into his seat. "What, you think it was my hollow? That I lost control again and went on a killing spree here?"

"I don't know what to think!" Hitsugaya yelled. "But right now, we have her words, your reiatsu at the scene; as of this moment, you are responsible. Unless you can prove otherwise, you will be sentenced to death." Without another word, Hitsugaya stormed out of the room.

Ichigo was astounded. They did not actually believe that he was capable of such a thing, did they? There was no way he could have, yet…The thought struck him that what if it was his inner hollow? Were his previous words to Hitsugaya true? It was possible…He buried his face in his hands, feeling a heavy weight on his shoulders.

The only witness to his whereabouts last night was Rukia, but they had fallen asleep…Suddenly, Ichigo sat up and scowled.

"What the hell're you doing?" he growled. "Suck it up and stop whining! Worse crap has happened; you'll figure a way out of this mess." After this little pep talk, Ichigo felt much better. The cell seemed less forlorn, the air less chill. There was no way he was guilty; someone else must have been responsible and set him up. It was just up to everyone back home in the real world to figure out who.

* * *

So there ya go! It's definately starting to move along now...I've been writing like crazy lately. My notebook is almost full! O.o

but if anyone has suggestions for a bad guy name, I am open for any and all opinions.


	4. Your Call

Chapter 4, whoohoo!

So do people still even read this? cuz if they do, they should leave a review or a comment or something (hint hint)

Also, these chapters are named after a song (excluding the firs one XP), and the song corresponds with the chapter and whatnot. So this chapter is based off of Your Call, by Secondhand Serenade (its also the basis of the story itself) so listen to that song if you'd like, you'll find lots of the lyrics in the chapter XD

Disclaimer: I don't own none of the characters...or the settings...or anything to do with Bleach

* * *

Rukia collapsed onto Ichigo's bed. It had been a week since he had been taken, and nothing had been heard from Soul Society. Likewise, Urahara had been silent as well, which was quite unusual for a man such as him in a situation such as this.

Outside, Rukia could just barely make out the dark outlines of the members of the special ops through the window. She figured they were probably watching her now; slowly, the raven-haired woman pushed herself up and pulled the curtains closed to cover the window. Any small rebellion against their jailers was worth it.

From downstairs, she could hear the sounds of dinner being prepared by the Kurosaki's and their house guests. Orihime was no doubt attempting to help Yuzu with dinner, and Ishida was busy trying to keep her from poisoning them all. Isshin was probably trying to instigate a fight with the ever stoical Chad, and Karin…Rukia's hand rested on the curtains. Ever since Rukia had told her the truth of what had happened, Karin had avoided her like the plague. She blamed Rukia for all that had been done to Ichigo; Rukia did not hold it against her.

Once again she fell onto the bed, curling up so her knees were pressed tightly against her chest. The past days had not been good to her. She felt so sick, and she wondered if it was because of how angry she was at the Seireitei, for taking Ichigo unjustly, and for taking him at all. But then again…Rukia pulled her knees in closer, if that was possible. From downstairs, she heard someone call her name, but she did not bother getting up. She felt too ill to do anything.

The cause of her illness was still a mystery to her somewhat. As much as she wished to blame it on her anger – for she heard intense emotions could translate into physical illnesses – she could not in good conscience. The truth was…she missed him. Apparently, extreme emotion could make you sick; she just had the wrong one.

That one man could affect her so much…blood seeped into Rukia's cheeks, her Kuchiki side embarrassed. _If Byakuya were here_, she thought, snorting in derision.

For a moment, she forgot about Byakuya and the Kuchiki rules, and closed her eyes, imagining Ichigo sitting at his desk, yelling at her for lying on his bed. Rukia could so completely imagine his presence there that she wondered if this had all been a dream, and that when she opened her eyes he would be there, truly yelling at her.

Her eyes were greeted by nothing more than a dark, empty room. Across from the bed, the shadowed mouth of the closet stared back at her, as if inviting her to retreat into its dark depths and just forget the events of the past couple days. Sighing, Rukia sat up, running a hand through her hair. Things were not going to get better by moping around, she decided. "It's time I start doing something useful," she muttered to herself, standing up.

"Going so soon?"

Rukia spun on her heel, facing the window. There, sitting on the sill, was a small black cat. It winked at her, purring "How ya been?"

"Yoruichi!" Rukia exclaimed, eyes wide. "How did you get in here?"

In one fluid movement, Yoruichi leapt from the window to Ichigo's bed. "I'm assuming you're referring to those fools outside?" she said, her eyes twinkling. "They couldn't sense an elephant if it stood in front of them. But to more pressing matters." Yoruichi began scratching at her neck, and Rukia saw a small, brown package attached to a string on her neck. Without a second thought, Rukia knelt down and untied it, holding the package carefully. Yoruichi shook her head, grateful to be rid of the thing.

"Thank you," she meowed. When she saw Rukia still standing there with the parcel, she growled, "Well don't just stand there! Open it up already."

Deftly, Rukia's fingers ripped off the brown wrappings. In short notice she was holding a small, phone-like device.

"What is it?" she asked, turning it over in her hands.

"What does it look like?" Yoruichi sighed. "It's a phone. The only thing that makes it special is that it only connects with one other phone."

"Who has it?"

"I'm getting there," Yoruichi said tersely. "As I was saying, Urahara designed these phones so that the signal is undetectable, untraceable, and can go between this world and the Soul Society." The cat jumped back to the window sill, preparing to go. "We are being watched as well, and are quite aware of the situation. As it is, we are investigating the murders; hopefully we'll find something helpful."

"But what-" Rukia began, still so many questions to ask.

"Ichigo has the other phone, or will have it," Yoruichi finally said. "Do not call him, he will call you; I'm sure you can figure it out from there." And with that she was gone, the window closed, the curtains drawn. Rukia was left standing alone, clutching the phone to her chest.

Gradually, she was able to process everything. Urahara and Yoruichi knew what was going on. They were searching for the truth behind the murders. They were also being watched. It was proof of Yoruichi's skill that she was able to get away and deliver the phone. Rukia now turned her focus to said device in her hands. Urahara had made it, it connected her to Ichigo; that's all she knew and all she needed to know.

She sat on the ground, leaning against the side of the bed. Trembling slightly, she pushed the on button, the screen lighting up immediately, bathing her face in a greenish glow.

_Just a little longer_, she told herself. _I only have to wait for just a little while longer_.

-

A world away, Ichigo lay on his back on a cold stone floor, staring up at the ceiling of his prison. Thankfully, the swelling on the back of his head had finally gone down, making this position possible without too much pain.

A chill breeze rolled in suddenly, causing goose bumps to form on the prisoner's arm. Lazily, Ichigo tilted hi s head backward, in order to see the person standing at the cell bars.

"Oh, you're back, Toshirō," he said, smirking. The captain frowned, his brow furrowing.

"You've been in here for eight days, Ichigo," he commented, ignoring as best he could Ichigo's blatant use of his first name. "You might as well tell us why you did it, what you were after, and who's working with you."

Ichigo returned his head to its former position and sighed. "I'd love to tell you and all, except that I didn't do anything."

Hitsugaya moved on. "Why are you allowing yourself to be imprisoned?" he inquired. "It'd be incredibly easy for you to escape, yet you sit here."

"Well, let's think through this logically," Ichigo responded. "First off, I don't have superhuman strength, so punching through the walls or bending the bars is out of the question. I can't use kidō, so that's out. The only way I could get out is by using Zangetsu, but it's all the way over there. So as you can see, I'm stuck. And besides," he continued, "if I did escape, I'd actually be guilty of something, now wouldn't I?"

"True," Hitsugaya conceded. For a while nothing was said; these conversations had all been like this one as of late. Short of torture, Hitsugaya could get Ichigo to admit to nothing. He had begun to wonder if perhaps Mayuri's device had malfunctioned, and Ichigo was telling the truth. Unfortunately, a gut feeling would not hold up against evidence before the Central Forty-Six. Ichigo caught this flicker of indecision on Hitsugaya's face.

"You don't think I did it, do you?"

The question hung in the air between them, begging to be answered. Abruptly, Hitsugaya turned and left, pausing slightly at the door to whisper an inaudible "I don't know," before exiting.

Still lying on the floor, Ichigo rubbed his eyes wearily. Life was pretty much a suck-fest right now, and he was lost as to what to do. Sure, he had been in tough situations before, faced enemies he had had to kill. Sitting around in a jail cell should be a breeze compared to some of the things he had seen. But the nightmares had gotten worse…what he really needed right now was something normal, a constant in his life he could hold on to and keep him sane throughout this. Ichigo snorted; words like normal and constant just were not used to describe his life.

And yet…his thoughts drifted to Rukia. Of all the people in his life, she was the one he could trust to have his back all the time, was always there to slap some sense into him. The way he figured, if she were here right now, things would be ok. The delicate balance of his life would once again be righted.

It was ridiculous how important she was to him. Sure, his family was important, and he cared about his friends, but, this was different. He was not even sure how much the feelings were reciprocated. Ichigo's thoughts began to wander; what was their relationship anyway? They said they loved each other, but they still fought over most everything. No one even knew about it, whatever it was they are. He would not call Rukia his girlfriend; the word just was not…enough.

His thoughts continued to ramble on, running rampant in his head yet not really going anywhere. That is why he did not notice when Yoruichi slipped through the bars of his cell.

"Oi, Ichigo!" He jumped, startled by her sudden appearance.

"Oh, ah, Yoruichi-san!" he said; Ichigo never could get over how deep her voice was when she was a cat.

"Listen, there's not much time, so I'm going to make this quick," Yoruichi said quietly. "There's a package tied to my neck; take it and open it up." Ichigo rapidly did as he was told, the phone soon in his hands.

"A phone?"

"Yes. It only connects with one other phone, and is undetectable and untraceable." Yoruichi relayed the same facts to Ichigo as she had to Rukia a day ago.

"Who has the other one? Because I'd like you to get it to Rukia," Ichigo interjected.

Yoruichi flashed a feline smile. "Good, I guessed right. She already has it. Now pay attention," she meowed, once again serious. "Urahara and I are desperately working to find evidence to prove your innocence. So please don't screw things up and do something stupid." Suddenly, her ears twitched. "Someone's coming. I-"

"But what am I supposed to do with the phone?"

"What do you think, baka? Call Rukia, make a plan or something." Bunching her legs under her, Yoruichi sprung to the window above his head.

"But you said-"

"Yes, yes, nothing stupid. So don't make a stupid plan." And she slipped through the bars and was gone, giving Ichigo just enough time to hide everything in his sleeves before the guard came in.

"Dinner," the shinigami said, holding up a tray. Leisurely, Ichigo stood up and walked to the bars.

"What is it today? Ramen? Sushi?" he asked sarcastically. The guard glared at him and passed an earthenware bowl through the bars. "What, no spoon?" Ichigo observed, glancing down at his bowl full of soupy pig slop.

"You should be thankful you get anything at all," the guard snarled. "Murderer."

Ichigo did his best to ignore the last statement, returning to his spot on the floor. It was apparent that not all the shinigami shared Hitsugaya's sentiments concerning the accusations he was charged with. Leaning against the wall, he tried to get as comfortable as he could. "Thanks," he called out to the guard as he was leaving, raising the bowl in mock salute. As expected, the guard ignored him, leaving Ichigo alone once again.

"Jerk," he muttered, lifting the bowl to his mouth. Trying not to think too hard about it, Ichigo tipped the bowl back. It was quickly drained of its contents. He swallowed rapidly, in ordered to avoid the awful taste. As in the days before, it failed to work, and he was left with a horrible taste in his mouth.

Outside, the sun was beginning to set, sinking lower behind the white walls of the Seireitei. The light inside Ichigo's cell began to dim, the shadows growing larger and deeper. Still, he sat where he was, the empty bowl at his side. Closing his eyes, he let his mind wander, trying to sense the souls outside. It was a new skill he had been working on, figuring it would be handy to have a heightened soul sensitivity.

Nearby, he could sense a few low ranking shinigami, the guards most likely. He scanned the area surrounding the jail block, envisioning the streets and buildings in his head. The area was practically deserted, not a soul in sight…or sense, as the case may be. Ichigo smiled when he saw there was no Hitsugaya in the immediate vicinity.

Opening his eyes, Ichigo pulled out the cell-like device Yoruichi had given him. Time to see if this thing was all it was cracked up to be.

-

Back in the real world, Rukia had fallen asleep on Ichigo's bed. It had been a day since Yoruichi had given her the phone; a whole day of fruitless waiting. Eventually she had just crawled into bed, on the pretense of "resting her eyes", but before too long her lack of sleep caught up with her and she passed out. It was a stroke of good luck that she had set the phone off vibrate.

The phone's raucous beeping was sufficient noise to wake Rukia up. Sitting up quickly, she just stared at the phone in her hand for a second, incredulous, then, realizing how loud the ringing was, she flipped it open, raising it tentatively to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Rukia?"

Rukia's breath caught in her throat when she heard his voice. It was hard to believe only eight days of his absence could do this to her. Suddenly she realized he was still talking, and that she had not replied.

"Hello? Rukia, you there? Damn you Urahara…Hello?"

"Yeah, I'm here, sorry…god it's good to hear your voice."

"Yeah, the feeling's mutual," Ichigo said. He never knew eight days could be an eternity.

Rukia felt like crying; or yelling, which is what she decided upon. "Baka! I can't believe you got yourself arrested, you idiot!" she fumed, pouring out her pent up anger; it was the only way to she could express the emotions holed up inside her.

"It's not like I had a choice in the matter!" Ichigo retorted. "I didn't do anything, remember?"

"I know," Rukia said softly, her anger quickly dissipating. "It's just…everyone's so worried…How're you holding up?"

"Alright, for sitting in a cell for eight days," he joked. "But," Ichigo's features darkened, his grip on the phone tightening, "the nightmares are back." Purposefully he left out the part about them being worse than ever.

Rukia ached for him. Ever since the war, these nightmares had plagued him. He would wake up, sometimes screaming, more often than not just sitting straight up, eyes wide, mumbling unintelligible phrases. It had almost become routine for her to wake up at two or three to calm him down. They had all but stopped up until when he was kidnapped. She sighed; but now they were back.

"Ichigo, I…," her voice faltered; what could she say?

"It's fine," he said. "But forget about me for a second; how's everyone there holding up?"

"Fine, considering the circumstances. Sado, Ishida, and Inoue are all here, trying to think of a way to save you probably. Oh, and I had to tell Karin the truth, about everything," Rukia told him. "She pretty much knew most everything anyway…I'm sure she thought up an adequate lie to tell your father and sister so they won't worry. See, we don't need you that much," she finished sarcastically.

Ichigo did not laugh. "But how're _you_ holding up?"

"Oh, I'm fine, really," she replied nonchalantly. "It's definitely less noisy without you."

"Dammit Rukia, cut the crap," he said, his voice firm yet still gentle. "I think I know you better than that. Just answer me truthfully."

The line was silent. Ichigo wondered if she had hung up, but then she whispered:

"I-I miss you."

Ichigo wanted to curl up and die at her words. It pained him to no end to hear someone as strong as Rukia sound so miserable and broken. He knew it was unfair, but he blamed himself.

"Rukia, I-"

"This past day, waiting for your call," Rukia went on, "I was sick, I was angry…I was so desperate for your voice…god I'm such a wreck," she said bitterly, holding her head in her free hand. Ichigo leaned his head back against the rough cell wall; how he wished he could be there beside her, and just hold her.

"Rukia," he faltered. "I can't promise you everything's going to turn out alright this time, but…I'm going to do whatever I have to do to see you again. Being here has made realize how much you are a part of my life…there is no heart without you."

Rukia chuckled softly. "You are the king of the corny and cliché, aren't you?" she said, making Ichigo smile slightly.

"Yeah I know…Rukia," Ichigo paused to make sure there was still no one around. It would not be good to have someone walk in on him with a phone. "I'm tired of being all alone."

"Ichigo, you-"

"I need to know something," he said, interrupting her. "Being with you, it's given me a taste of what it's like to not have to be alone all the time…I want that." Outside the cell, the moon had risen, casting silvery beams of light onto the cold stone floor. Ichigo stuck a hand into one of the beams, watching the lights and shadows play as he turned it. "I don't know if you realized this, but…I love you. More than I've ever loved anyone. I don't ever want to have to live without you. When I try to imagine where I'll be in a year, ten years, the only thing that's constant is that you are there, right next to me. I just…I need to know what you see."

Rukia was speechless; that was a whole lot to be hit with in such a short amount of time. She closed her eyes, slowly massaging her temple. "Ichigo…ah, it's so ridiculous doing this over the phone." After taking a deep, calming breath, she felt stable enough to go on. "I've never felt this way about anyone. I know you're strong enough to protect me, strong enough to give me what I need when it's not what I want. And ever since I met you, no one else has commanded my thoughts like you have. I…I can't imagine my life without you in it, and I-"

"Rukia-chan!"

Rukia nearly fell off the bed in surprise, fumbling to find a hiding spot for the phone. "Ah, Inoue!" she cried out, sitting on the cell. "You, ah, you surprised me."

Orihime's hand flew to her mouth. "I'm so sorry Rukia-chan!" she exclaimed. "I just wanted to know if you wanted some dinner."

Knowing the type of meal it would be, Rukia denied politely, hoping the others could fend for themselves. "No thank you, Inoue," she said in her best Kuchiki-noble manner. "I'm not hungry right now."

"Oh." Orihime looked disheartened. It hurt her to see her friend so distraught. She had been hoping that if Rukia had come out of hiding in this darkened room, she would cheer up, but…her friend's demeanor reminded Orihime of how Ichigo's when Rukia was taken all those years ago. "Don't worry, Rukia-chan!" she said brightly. "You'll find a way to save him!"

"Thank you, Orihime," Rukia replied, genuinely grateful to her friend. A soft smile graced her features, and Orihime just smiled in return and left the room, the door latching quietly behind her.

As soon as her footsteps faded away, Rukia pulled out the phone.

"I love you," she said. On the other end of the line, Ichigo jumped, startled by this sudden statement after the silence.

"Wha-wh-" he stammered, caught off guard.

"I told you baka: I. Love. You. I've decided that you are the only person I could ever imagine spending the rest of my life with." Determined now, she got up from the bed and walked over to the closet. "Which is why I'm coming to save you."

"What?! No, Rukia, you can't-"

"Kurosaki Ichigo, there is no way in hell you are going to say anything that will make me stay here and do nothing," she told him firmly, getting fired up.

"Rukia, there on red alert here! You can't expect to just waltz on in here and bust me out!" Ichigo could not just let her go. "The chances of you making it to me without getting caught or hurt are slim, if there are any. Just wait there until Urah-"

"I'm coming to save you, whether you like it or not," Rukia said defiantly. "From here on out, all your opinions are rejected."

Ichigo could not help himself; he grinned. Then, serious once more, he warned her, "Rukia, I don't want you to do this, but I know you will anyways, so just be careful." He sighed, knowing he was not going to win this argument.

"Ichigo, I'm leaving tonight. If this is where it ends, you damn well better go down fighting, with me right beside you. I love you." Quickly, Rukia turned the phone off, so Ichigo could not call back and try to talk her out of it.

Looking up, she found herself at the closet. Without further delay, she pulled the bedding supplies out of it, revealing the many large, gleaming tools underneath it.

It was time to get to work.

* * *

Yay!!! so didja like it? this whole chapter was basically a lot of fluff. I had a really hard time writing it, cuz it seemed so out of character! but anywho, this whole story started off with that one little line, "I miss you". no seriously, I was listening to Your Call, and that line popped into my head, and thus a story was born. Amazing, huh?

So ya, comment and review and stuff! its really nice...


	5. This Is War

OHMYGOSH!!! This is probably the fastest I've ever uploaded a chapter. Ever.

But things start to heat up!! I also think this is the longest chapter yet...but anywho, hope you enjoy!! (p.s. don't forget to review! its what gives me the drive to finish :D)

Disclaimer: I still don't own Bleach. How many time do I have to tell you? (However, I do own the plot, and the baddie :D)

* * *

Ichigo ran a hand through his hair, exhaling loudly. When her minds made up, there's no point trying to fight it. The only thing left to do now was wait and see how things turned out, he thought to himself, closing his eyes and letting his mind wander about the souls outside. It was not long before he sensed the soul of a guard coming towards his cell. Sighing in exasperation, Ichigo hid the phone in the folds of his robes, wondering what the guard was doing here after dark.

"Oi, whadaya want?" he complained loudly when the shinigami came through the door.

"Hello, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ichigo's blood ran cold at the newcomer's voice, his hair standing on end. He looked over to see the guard from earlier standing in the center of the room, smirking at him.

"What, don't remember me?"

It was the same guard from before, Ichigo swore it was, yet…he was, different, for lack of a better word. Ichigo could feel something sinister and evil emanating from that man.

"Well, now that I think about it, you probably wouldn't," the man went on, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "I was before your time. But no matter; I just thought I should pay a visit to the man who made all this delicious chaos possible. A round of applause for the great Kurosaki Ichigo!" Still smiling mockingly, he began clapping for a completely dumbfounded Ichigo.

"I…You- What?" Ichigo managed to stammer out. The man stopped clapping, his brows drawing together in a tight line.

"You know," he said, walking over to where Zangetsu was leaned against the wall. "I'm very much like that hollow inside you, Ichigo. We're both powerful, both misunderstood…both get you in trouble." He grinned wickedly back at the imprisoned Ichigo.

"Wait, so you," Ichigo was finally putting the pieces together. "You're the one who attacked Soul Society?"

"And we have a winner!" the man drawled sarcastically. "Let me reenact what happened for you, since you missed it."

Before him, Ichigo watched as the man changed shape. It was not gross, his skin didn't bubble or bulge; he just simply melded into a new form. Ichigo stared at this transformation in horror, wondering just who the hell this guy was.

In a matter of seconds, Matsumoto Rangiku was kneeling on the ground, clutching her stomach, her face warped in a grimace of pain.

"How could you?" she gasped out. Then the act was over and she stood up, immediately turning into Ichigo. In his cell, Ichigo gaped as he saw himself standing out there, a sinister smile twisting his features. "It's nothing for you to worry about," this fake Ichigo sneered. His body then shifted, morphing into that of Hitsugaya. "I'll kill him," the captain snarled, fists clenched. Suddenly, his countenance cleared, and he was once again the guard from before.

"And that's what happened, in a nutshell."

Ichigo lunged at the bars of the cell, wishing the man were closer. "Who the hell are you?!" he yelled, not caring who heard. "What do you want?"

"Ah, yet another reason why your hollow friend and I are so much alike," he said thoughtfully. "We have no name, so I can't really answer your first question…but as for my agenda, well, it was purely good luck that the Twelfth squad is hiding some sort of secret technology. It gives me a great excuse to cause total and utter chaos while inflicting pain on Soul Society." The man stopped, as if lost in thought. "Things are coming together quite nicely," he muttered to himself. Clapping his hands together, he returned his focus to Ichigo. "Well, I'm off once again to cause pandemonium and create doubt within the Seireitei. I think you'll quite enjoy it this time." Ichigo watched in horror as the man's figure altered once more. His body shrunk, growing thinner, more feminine. The guard's short brown hair lengthened, turning raven black. In short order, Rukia was standing before him.

"What do you think?" she asked mockingly, pointing the white blade of Sode no Shirayuki at Ichigo.

"Bastard!" Ichigo yelled, gripping the cell bars so hard his knuckles turned white. Rukia looked at him in fake surprise.

"Why Ichigo! Such language," she tsked. "Is that anyway to talk to the woman you love?"

It took all he had not to burst out of the cell right now. But then he thought that he probably could not do it anyway, not without Zangetsu.

"You son of a bitch," he seethed. "I swear to God I'm gonna kill you."

Rukia laughed. Ichigo wanted to rip his ears off; it was her voice, her laugh, but it sure as hell was not her. "You monster," he snarled. Immediately, the smirk was wiped from her face.

"Everyone's the same," she said coldly. "You have just made me very angry, Mr. Kurosaki, and things happen when I'm angry." Although her voice was deadly calm, Ichigo could see the murderous intent in her eyes. "This wasn't about you, originally. You were just the easiest means to my ends. Unfortunately, you have now made it about yourself. Anything that happens now is your fault." As she made for the door, she added, "I wasn't even going to kill her before."

A cold, dark fear filled Ichigo. "If you even touch her," he said, a slight quiver in his voice, "I will-"

"You'll what, kill me?" She let out a bark-like laugh. "Make me pay? Stop being so cliché, and be realistic; you can't even get out of that cell. How do you expect to defeat me? I can be anyone I want, have any power I want. I could be the fucking commander general if I want!" Ichigo wanted to break out of the cell so badly, but he knew how impossible that was. Despair started to set in as he realized how useless he was.

"Goodbye, Kurosaki Ichigo. I'll try to leave her mostly intact," Rukia said, and disappeared out the door.

- -

Renji found himself wandering the dark streets of the Seireitei, unable to fall asleep. His conviction of Ichigo's guilt had waned. After a day or two of cooling down he had been able to think logically about the situation. He wished he could just talk to his friend, or even Rukia, but conversations with the suspects was strictly forbidden.

The rest of the Court of Pure Souls was being split by this as well. The multitude thoroughly believed Ichigo was guilty, but there were those, like Renji, who doubted this. Unfortunately, Central Forty-Six tends to hear the louder voice of the majority more often than not. The red-headed man sighed; it would seem Ichigo's plight quite helpless at this point. The only hope now would be to find some undeniable proof of his innocence.

He stopped walking, dust swirling around his feet. It should not have been too much of a surprise that his mindless wanderings had led him to the scene of the initial attack. There was nothing here that could help him; they had already painstakingly scoured the area for evidence. The only things left here were the charred skeletons of buildings. They stood naked amidst the destruction, staring forlornly back at him.

Renji was just about to turn around and head back to the barracks when a slight movement caught his eye. Whipping his head around, he peered into the dark depths of an alleyway that had remained untouched by the fire.

"Hello? Anybody there?" He called out, placing a hand on Zabimaru's hilt. Again, he saw movement; against his better judgment, he crept farther into the alleyway. "Hello?" Renji repeated. Perhaps whatever was back here had something to do with the attack.

"R-Renji?"

The fuku-taicho froze. "Rukia?" he said, astonished. Suddenly, she came running, her sword out.

"Oh, Renji, I'm so glad you're here!" she cried, wrapping her arms around him. Renji could not move; he was still in shock. She should not be here, she's supposed to be under house arrest-

It was then that the pain hit him.

Looking down, he no longer saw Rukia hugging him. In her place, Sode no Shirayuki was stuck up to its hilt in his stomach, blood slowly seeping from around it. He went to open his mouth to speak, to say something, but all he could do was cough up blood. Rukia was looking at him coldly, a steely glint in her eyes. Renji knew it then: this was not Rukia.

"Sorry Abarai," she said, pulling the sword out. It made a sickening sucking sound as it exited Renji's body. "But this is the way it has to be." As she walked away he reached out and grabbed her sleeve, barely standing.

"Wait…who are-" He gasped again as she stabbed him a second time in the chest. Renji collapsed, clutching the new wound, sinking to his knees and then finally he fell on his face, fighting for breath. A pool of blood began to gather around him, soaking into his clothes, his hair. Rukia glanced at the blood staining the pure white blade, then wiped it off on Renji's back.

"Fool, don't you know when to give up?" she sneered. Once again, she turned to leave, but desperately Renji grabbed her ankle. Sighing in annoyance, Rukia knelt down in front of him.

"Give it up already! Don't you get it?" she hissed, now thoroughly fed up with Renji. "Don't you realize how futile it is to reach for the moon, when it's already in the sun's pull?"

Renji's eyes widened; the metaphor was not lost on him. "You- who are you, you monster?" he spat out, coughing up another mouthful of blood and spit. Immediately the lines of Rukia's features hardened.

"You to," she whispered, standing up. Her voice almost sounded hurt. Without another word, she stabbed him in the back. Twice. "I was going to let you live," she said, violently twisting the blade as she pulled it out the second time, causing Renji to scream in pain. "Now, no guarantees this will kill you, but it's worth a shot."

Black spots swarmed in Renji's vision blocking his view of her exit. Pain clouded his thoughts as he drifted towards unconsciousness, but he knew one thing for sure: Ichigo sure as hell was not guilty.

- -

"Hanatarō! Hanatarō Yamada, please wake up!" The young Sixth squad member Rikichi kept pounding on the door with all his might until a drowsy Hanatarou opened it up.

"Ah, Rikichi," he yawned, after rubbing his eyes. "It's a little early…is something going on-" In a second Rikichi had grabbed the medical bag resting against the wall and Hanatarō simultaneously, dragging them both down the empty hallway.

"What's going on? Where are we going?" Hanatarō exclaimed, shocked into wakefulness.

"No time to explain!" Rikichi panted. "But we have to hurry!"

Sensing the anxiety of his companion, Hanatarō started running instead of being dragged along, and grabbed the medical bag from Rikichi. "Where are we headed?" he asked breathlessly as they exited the barracks at a sprint.

"Just follow me!" Rikichi poured on the speed, forcing Hanatarō to reach the limits of his physical fitness.

The two sped through back alleys and deserted walkways, taking the shortest route possible to what Hanatarō soon realized was the Twelfth district.

The night, or early morning as it may be, was practically devoid of life. Occasionally, their frantic run earned them the curious stare from a sleepy guard, but nothing more. It was probably a good thing there was not anyone out; more people would have just slowed them down.

In a few minutes they skidded to a stop. The acrid smell of smoke reached their noses, still around even though the fires were long gone. Rikichi walked warily towards the blackened wreckage.

"This is where I last felt Renji's reiatsu before it vanished," he said, his voice panicky. "I think he might be in trouble!"

Hanatarō paled. "Just…just calm down," he said, breathing heavily. "Are you sure he just vanished? Could he be concealing his reiatsu or-"

"He just disappeared!" Rikichi cried. "We're wasting time talking when we should be searching! He could be dying for all we know."

Rikichi was right. And besides, the last time he had come running to Hanatarō like this, he had been right in the end. They quickly began searching the surrounding area. Five minutes passed with no shouts or exclamations of finding, and Rikichi was getting nervous.

"I could've sworn…I knew he was," he rambled frantically, rushing back from another fruitless side street search.

"Just calm down and try to sense him again," Hanatarō panted, anxiety fraying his nerves. Rikichi took this sensible advice, breathing deeply to compose himself.

Suddenly, his head snapped up. "There!" he yelled, sprinting in the direction of the burned buildings. Hanatarō followed behind him closely, almost falling over when Rikichi took a sharp right into a well hidden alley.

There, lying on the ground, was the motionless body of Renji.

Without a second thought, Hanatarō began the task of healing the fuku-taicho.

"Rikichi, help me roll him over." The two managed to get the larger man on his back. Renji's clothes were soaked with blood, his face pale from the lack of it, making the black tattoos on his forehead stand out in stark contrast. Rikichi looked on worriedly as Hanatarou went to work.

"Will he be alright?"

Hanatarō said nothing, focused only on healing the man in front of him.

After a few more tense minutes of silence, Hanatarō said, "I've stopped the bleeding, but his injuries are too much for just me. You need to go get someone else –"

As he was speaking, the alarm gong rang out across the Seireitei, calling all the captains in for an emergency meeting. Rikichi and Hanatarō turned to each other, a look of understanding passing between them.

"I'll" go tell the captains."

Hanatarō watched Rikichi run off, wishing the kid knew shunpō. Hoping he would make in there in time, Hanatarō returned to stabilizing Renji, every second feeling his life slipping farther away.

- -

Rukia stepped back a pace, admiring her work. Smiling in satisfaction, she closed the Do-It-Yourself book supplied to her by Urahara, placing it on the desk. Before her was a makeshift senkaimon gate, ready for transportation directly to the Soul Society. Once again, she checked her bag, making sure she had all the necessary tools. As an afterthought, she turned on the cell phone and threw it in. Now satisfied, she pulled out the drill she had bought from Urahara.

"Told you these would come in handy," she muttered, gloating.

It was then that Kon decided to make his appearance. The stuffed lion had disappeared once Kira and Hisagi had left, and had not been heard of since. Apparently the thought of his beloved Nee-san leaving was enough to get him out of hiding.

"Nee-san!" he cried, leaping at her. Reacting quickly, Rukia caught him in midair and chucked him across the room.

"Not now Kon!" she hissed. "If you tell anyone where I'm going, I swear I will pull your stuffing out through your eyes."

For once, Kon took her threat seriously. Maybe it was the look in her eyes, or the dangerous tone in her voice; whatever it was, it kept Kon quiet as Rukia activated the gate with the drill.

A soft glow filled the room as the passageway opened. Rukia stood at its center, her fingers tightening around the straps of her bag. With one last quiet farewell to Kon, Rukia began walking through the tunnel.

Once inside, she soon started to speed up, her feet hitting the ground faster and faster, until she was sprinting towards the other end. Rukia hoped that Urahara had somehow changed the exit so it was not high above Rukongai; she'd rather not advertise her presence that way.

The end was fast approaching. In her head, Rukia went over the plan she had concocted. It would be a stretch but- in the blink of an eye she was out. And freefalling.

"Damn you Urahara!" she fumed, quickly righting herself so as to land on her feet. Thankfully, it was still early, many hours before dawn, and no one was out. It was the quietest she had ever seen Rukongai.

Before anyone had the chance to wake up, she put her plan into action. Stealthily, she ran over to the walls surrounding the Seireitei. At first she had considered finding a point in the wall closest to where Ichigo was being held, but then realized she had forgotten to ask him that, and quickly ditched the idea. Even if she knew, it would have taken more time than it would save. Focusing back to the task at hand, Rukia pulled a saws-all out of her bag. For once Urahara's inventions had been useful; this one had the ability to cut through sekki-seki stone.

Nervously, she started up the tool, expecting it to roar to life. Surprisingly enough, it just turned on quietly, the blade emitting a low hum as it moved. Rukia smiled victoriously as she raised the saw to the wall.

Time for a little remodeling.

- -

"After eight days of questioning, Kurosaki has confessed to none of the crimes he is accused of. He also claims to have no information concerning the attack." Behind him, Mayuri was muttering something about how much more effective torture is. Fighting the urge to yawn, Hitsugaya asked, "With all due respect sir, why was an emergency meeting called this early to hear me give a report?"

The captains waited with baited breath, half expecting the sou-taichō to respond with anger. To everyone's surprise, and Hitsugaya's relief, Yamamoto answered his question.

"Just outside the boundaries of Rukongai, there has been a large portal sensed. I had hoped Kurosaki had information concerning this, but it would appear not." Abruptly changing the subject he said, "Mayuri, you now have full control of Kurosaki's interrogation."

Hitsugaya clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, his nails biting into the flesh of his palm. He could feel the excitement radiating from the other captain behind him. It took all of his will to keep from shouting out to argue this decree. If Mayuri questioned him…there was no doubt in the young captain's mind about what would happen to Ichigo. He would be lucky to survive.

Around him, orders were being issued to the captains on how to deal with this new presence outside the walls of the Seireitei. For once they received their assignments quietly, sensing the gravity of the situation. They were just getting ready to depart when the doors to the chamber slammed open. As one body, the captains turned to see what was happening now.

Standing in the doorway was a young dark-haired shinigami. Hitsugaya recognized him by the tattoo over his eye, an unranked soldier in the Sixth division; his name was…Rakicho? Rikichu? Hitsugaya gave up trying to figure out who the young man was and listened to the message he was frantically relaying.

Rikichi gasped for breath, trying desperately to get his message out. "It's Abarai," he paused to cough, hoping Hanatarō could hold on. "Abarai fuku-taichō has been attacked!"

"What do you mean, attacked?" The captains looked at the young shinigami uneasily, dreading the meaning of this.

"What do I mean?! Abarai Renji is dying in an alley and needs help!" To Rikichi's relief, Unohana Retsu, the motherly captain of the Fourth squad, stepped out of the line of captains.

"I will attend to Abarai fuku-taichō," she said, walking toward him. "Lead the way, young Rikichi."

Not bothering to be surprised that she knew his name, Rikichi started running out the door. Unohana followed at a much slower pace; once she had exited the building, she released her zanpaku-tō, Minazuki.

"Rikichi," she called as he ran away. "I think this way would be faster."

Hearing her calling him, Rikichi skidded to a stop, avoiding the post he was about to run into. Turning back, he saw Unohana sitting atop the giant creature that was her zanpaku-tō. Gulping he said, "Hai, taichō." and ran back.

Once again, the captains started to disperse, all deeply disturbed over this new development. Only Mayuri appeared cheerful, anticipating his new position as interrogator. He was going over what techniques he would employ when the alarm went off.

"Ah what the hell's goin' on now?" Kenpachi exclaimed loudly. First the portal, then Renji, now whatever this is… They were all getting quite fed up with the plot twists; was it so difficult for there to just be one decisive battle and then things were over?

Mayuri used this moment of confusion to slip out, Nemu falling into step behind him. No way in hell he was going to miss this chance.

Just a few moments after the alarm began, a messenger appeared at the door of the chamber. Immediately the captains quieted down, anxious to hear what he had to say.

"This is an urgent message from Kotsubaki Sentaro!" he said, getting all their attentions at once. Sentaro was one of the officers left in charge of guarding the Twelfth squad's device. "They are under attack! Kotetsu Kiyone has been killed, and many more wounded. Reinforcements are required right away!"

There was a moment of absolute shocked silence; no one could believe what they were hearing. This lasted for a split second, and then everyone went into action.

"Do they know who's attacking?" Ukitake asked, panicked, as the other captains rushed out the door.

"Kotetsu says it appears to be Kuchiki Rukia."

Ukitake's eyes widened in horror. Hitsugaya glanced to his right to see Byakuya's reaction, but the Sixth division's captain was already absent. He rushed out the door, determined to get there first; this was still his case, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

- -

Sentaro had been dozing off when it started.

Later, when he was visiting her grave, he would wonder how things would have been different if he had been awake. But as it was, he had not bee, and so it was Kiyone that had confronted the attacker, it had been Kiyone that had been killed.

It was the slice of sword on flesh that had woken him and the others around him up. They had immediately jumped into action, but it was too late for Kiyone.

"Attack!" Sentaro yelled, as he saw the troops from around the building come running up. He then threw himself into the fray, pushing through the lifeless bodies of other comrades. Could one person do this much damage? He thought. Behind him, he heard others rushing to join the fight. Finally, he was close enough to strike, and ran forward, sword raised.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who it was.

"Kuc-Kuchiki?" He stammered. "You killed Kiyone?"

Rukia smiled at him, a malicious look in her eyes. Around them, shinigami were moaning on the ground, unable to stand and fight. She pointed her blade at his face.

"Yeah, I did. What of it?" Sentaro paled. It was then that he had yelled for someone to send a messenger to the captains, and for everyone to stay back, and then charged her.

Their blades met with a clash and spray of sparks. Sentaro put all his might behind that swing, yet Rukia did not even flinch.

"Everyone knows I've always been stronger than you," she said, pushing him back. "And you've seen what I've done here; what do you hope to accomplish?"

Seething with rage, Sentaro screamed something unintelligible at her, then rushed headlong towards her, sweeping his sword down in one mighty swing. Nimbly, Rukia sidestepped, her blade slicing effortlessly through his right shoulder. Blood erupted in a crimson arc, and Sentaro stumbled to a stop, his left hand clutching his wounded shoulder.

"Murdering bitch!" he roared, running in to attack. He knew the others were waiting for his order for them to join the fight, but this was personal. If anyone was going to take Rukia down, it would be him.

Once again, Rukia dodged easily, this time injuring his other shoulder. Slowly, he turned to face her, hands still gripping the sword tightly, but due to his injuries he was unable to raise his blade. Fiery hate filled his eyes as he glared at her.

"We trusted you! You were one of us!" he yelled, incredulous over her sudden turn. "Why'd you join that evil bastard?"

Rukia twirled her sword lazily, as if trying to come up with a good answer. "Well, I guess…for the revenge?" she finally said, shrugging her shoulders. The shinigami were deathly quiet around them, wondering when the reinforcements would arrive.

"Wha- you guess?" he spluttered out. "Kiyone's dead because of you!"

"No," she said, once more pointing the white blade at his face. "It's because of _you_. That's the only reason I'm keeping you alive you see, so you can live the rest of your life knowing you are the reason she's dead." Sentaro grit his teeth, trying to block out her words, but they had already done their damage.

Looking back towards the building the shinigami had been protecting, Rukia sighed. "Well, I can sense the other captains coming. Looks like I didn't get that device again. Guess I'll just have to blow it up."

From her shihakushō she pulled out a small, black, cylindrical device, with one red button on the top. Sentaro's eyes widened as he saw it.

"What're you-" he got out before she pushed it.

Hitsugaya sped towards the attack. If only he could get there before the others, maybe…he was almost there when the building to his right exploded.

The shockwave of heat and debris threw him off balance, sending him crashing into the roof of another building. Standing up quickly, he shot up into the sky, searching for higher ground to clear the layer of smoke from the explosion. The captain alighted on a lookout tower, and saw that many explosions like this one had occurred all over the Seireitei, one of them being the warehouse that the Twelfth's device was being stored. Below, he watched as the captains led squads of shinigami to control the fires. Kenpachi was leading one group directly to where Rukia had been sighted. Hitsugaya snorted; figures.

Suddenly, he sensed something, his eyes widening; something was breaching the walls of the Seireitei. The regular hum of the spirit particles of the wall had become a sort of background music in his consciousness, but now it was disrupted; the only explanation could be a break in the sekki-seki stone. He began speeding off to where he perceived the break in the wall to be. It must have something to do with this attack, and the portal outside Rukongai.

The thought of Matsumoto lying unconscious on a hospital bed entered his mind. Hitsugaya pushed his shunpō to the limit; he had to find out who was doing this.

* * *

Yay! fight scenes, which are so hard to write XP

oh, and just so's ya know, I'm not shipping any other pair here besides IchiRuki. If you want to look into it, and be like OMYGAWSH THAT'S LIEK TOTALLY A HITSUMATSU MOMENT!!! or with some other pairing, that's just you reaing into it. I'm not really sold on any other pairings besides IchiRuki in Bleach anyway...but yeah!

So that chapter was a lot of jumping around...I hoped you could follow it ok! And I don't have any of the next chapter written out, so updates could be a while in coming...

Hey, don't forget to review! XD (...i hope i'm not being too belligerent...XP)


	6. The Rescue

Um, hey...*hangs head in shame*...so, how's it going? Long time no see *nervous laughter*.

I feel so bad! If you wish to kill me, feel free; I have wronged you, my diligent readers (yes, all five of you (I'm not pretending to myself that this story is majorly popular (although you all could help by spreading the word *hint hint*))). I don't deserve your love! I'm an awful updater...because this chapter was supposed to be out in January. It's now July. I've even had this chapter written for a while now; it's been staring at me from various places in the room, glaring more like, making me feel very guilty. But you can all thank Ichirukiforever123 , because they gave me such a wonderful review of this story, *sniff*, that I felt uber motivated and finished this chapter! :D (which is not to say that I don't like all of your guys' other reviews; they warmed my heart as well!)

So, Ichirukiforever123, do you like cookies? What kind? Where do you live? I'm going to hand-deliver some hand-made cookies to you (That is, of course, assuming that you live near me. If it's more than twenty miles, you're out of luck for real cookies. Sorry :/ ).

Ok, now that I'm done ranting, you can all read the story. And you have my scouts honor that I'll finish it soon.

* * *

"Gaah!"

Ichigo fell to the floor, slumping against the wall, his breath coming in uneven gasps. Ever since that man had left, he had been throwing everything he had at escaping. Never one for controlling his reiatsu, this task had been considerably difficult.

Presently, he got up. "This time," he told himself. Closing his eyes, Ichigo concentrated on focusing all his spiritual energy into his right hand. Blue energy crackled around Ichigo's balled fist, building in intensity as he channeled his reiatsu. When it felt like he could no longer control it and that it was going to burst, Ichigo's eyes snapped open. Winding up, he punched the wall as hard as he could, simultaneously releasing the stored energy.

At the moment of impact, Ichigo felt something snap. For a second, he thought he had finally started to break through the wall and make some headway at escaping. Then he realized he could no longer feel his fingers. Or his wrist. Or, for that matter, his whole arm from the elbow down.

Cursing vehemently, Ichigo stepped back from the unharmed wall and examined his limp appendage. Up until now, there had not been any pain, probably due to its intense numbness caused by impact, but Ichigo was fairly certain there would be eventually. He poked his arm tentatively, grimacing at its unnaturally squishy feel. Although he was no doctor, he lived with one, and from what he could tell the bones in his hand and forearm had been shattered. Experimentally, he tried moving his fingers; nothing, not even a twitch.

"Dammit," he seethed, frustration boiling inside of him. Why the hell was he so useless? From across the room, his sheathed zanpaku-tō caught his eye, looking at Ichigo forlornly from the corner. Perhaps he should try a different approach, and instead focus his energies on calling Zangetsu over to him. He quickly dismissed the idea; that was more ridiculous than trying to punch through the wall.

Ichigo wondered if he should try and tell someone about this, this imitator guy that was running around causing all this chaos. _Like they'd believe that_, he thought, snorting in derision. He wondered if Rukia would even believe him.

Once again, the alarm rang out across the Seireitei. Ichigo's head jerked up; this was the second time this morning that the alarm had gone off, and Ichigo was getting pretty curious as to why.

Shaking his head, he glanced down at his lifeless hand; all the alarm really meant was he needed to get out of here as soon as possible. But with his hand…He supposed he could give it a go with his left hand, but he could not afford to lose the use of that one as well.

As he was busy focusing on an escape plan, the cell-phone buried in his shihakushō started ringing. Ichigo jumped, startled by the unexpected sound, sending a shooting pain through his right arm. He winced; the numbness was wearing off, which meant the pain was sure to follow.

Clumsily, Ichigo fumbled around in his robes for the phone, cursing as he did so. He had never realized how hard it is to have one arm. Finally, he found the device and quickly flipped it open, catching it on the last ring.

"What?"

"Geez, sorry for bothering you," Rukia said sarcastically. "Not like I'm coming to rescue you or anything."

"Rukia!" Ichigo exclaimed. "I-"

"Well who else would be calling you on this phone?" She rolled her eyes. "Listen, I'm almost through; where are you?"

"What? Almost- forget it." Taking a deep breath, Ichigo attempted to calm his overly frayed nerves. "Look, Rukia, you gotta get out of here. The bastard who's responsible for all this is insane, and he's gonna kill you! You have to-"

"Too late." Rukia stepped away from the wall, turning the saw off. "I don't care what kind of sick and twisted freak is running around in there. I'm coming in to save your sorry ass."

"But you don't get it! He's-" Ichigo's eyes widened. "Oh shit."

Slowly, he lowered the phone as he stared into the delighted face of Seireitei's resident evil genius. Kurotsuchi Mayuri.

The captain's mouth curled upwards in a maniacal grin, his golden eyes glittering with unrestrained excitement.

"Oh-ho!" He exclaimed, eyeing the phone still in Ichigo's hand. "What do we have here? Nemu, retrieve."

"Hai, Kurotsuchi-taichō," the lieutenant replied robotically. Ichigo watched in amazement as she wrenched the bars of his cell apart and stepped calmly through. Nemu snatched the phone from the poor bewildered boy. Promptly, she returned to Mayuri, replacing the bars as best she could as she exited. Ichigo could still hear Rukia, her voice coming from the phone as a smaller and rather muted version of its regular self. Mayuri took the device from his creation, turning it over in his oddly nailed hands. Abruptly, his smile disappeared.

"Bah," he spat, tossing the phone over his shoulder. "Just a piece of Urahara Kisuke's worthless trash." Ichigo's eyes followed the phone's arc through the air, wincing as it crashed on the floor. It was like his only connection with Rukia had been severed.

"Now, to the purpose of our little visit. While all the captains are running around chasing down that Kuchiki girl-"

Ichigo was confused; he had just been talking to Rukia. "Why are they doing that?"

Mayuri sighed in exasperation. "Apparently she's attacking or something…I really wasn't listening but I think she may have killed someone," he told Ichigo, quite bored with the whole subject. "Now stop interrupting," he snapped, eyes narrowing. "The Commander has finally placed me in charge of interrogating you, so now the real questioning can get started."

The news made Ichigo blanch, his face turning almost as white as Mayuri's. Dramatically, the captain revealed the interior of his haori, showing off the plethora of vials nestled snugly in the many pockets sewn into the lining of the jacket. Every one of them was different, or, in other words, the Twelfth division's captain had in his possession hundreds of different poisons.

"Now where is it...," Mayuri muttered, slowly running his finger over the potions. "No, that works too quickly…not nearly painful enough…a good one, but unfortunately it paralyzes the vocal chords." Ichigo listened with increasing fear to this commentary. "Ah, here's the one!" Mayuri swiftly pulled out a small glass bottle, filled with an opaque, viscous liquid. His soon-to-be prisoner gulped. The orange-haired boy had quickly forgotten the conflict raging outside as he anticipated the terrors held in that vial.

The captain noticed Ichigo's frightened face. "Oh, don't worry; it's only a simple truth serum-" Ichigo relaxed, exhaling audibly, "-with some interesting side effects," he finished, placing the vial in a wicked looking syringe.

Once again, terror filled Ichigo. "Side effects?"

"It's only the usual," Mayuri responded casually, lightly flicking the needle. "Blindness, loss of limbs, paralysis, and most commonly, death. But these are only present a few hours after administration of the serum." He refocused on Ichigo. "Now, your arm please?"

At what can possibly claim to be the most opportune time, the building exploded.

Ichigo was thrown back through where the wall used to be. He landed awkwardly on his right arm, pain momentarily blinding him, and then he continued to skid across the ground. The prison which he had just recently occupied proceeded to go up in a ball of smoke and fire. A searing wave of heat soon followed the initial blast, and Ichigo had enough presence of mind to throw his good arm up to protect his face.

When the blaze had died down somewhat – at least enough for Ichigo to open his eyes without fear of them being burned in their sockets, which was in itself a somewhat unrealistic fear – he examined the destruction before him.

It was too good to be true; what had seconds before been his jail cell was now, by a stroke of fortune, just a smoldering pile of rubble. If not for other unfortunate factors, Ichigo would have found ample cause to celebrate.

Coughing from the smoke, Ichigo got up, being careful not to disturb his right arm. Now that the ringing in his ears caused by the explosion had stopped, he could hear the chaos around him. Alarm bells were clamoring, shinigami were running about wildly, some under orders but most fleeing in panic. Pillars of thick black smoke dotted the skyline; Ichigo could only assume they were from other explosions like the one he had just been in. And he could guess as to who caused it all.

It was then that he fully realized the position he was now in. He was free. No one would know if he left, and right now no one would really care; he could come and go as he pleased. And that is just what Ichigo planned to do. As soon as he found Zangetsu, of course.

He began his search by methodically picking his way through the still heated wreckage of the building, looking for any sign of his zanpaku-tō. Ichigo refrained from thinking about what it would mean if his sword was buried; he could only do so much with one arm. Relief flooded him when he saw the cloth-wrapped hilt protruding from a pile of walls debris. After a few good tugs he managed to pull Zangetsu free, and he hopped down to the street.

Once Zangetsu was firmly secured – a feat quite difficult with one working hand – Ichigo began making his way toward the outer wall to find Rukia.

Rukia ditched the phone. It had no purpose now that its twin had been destroyed. With an inhuman strength fueled by adrenaline and worry, she pushed in the cut-out section of wall. It fell through with surprising ease, landing with a dull thud and accompanied by a cloud of dust.

It occurred to her suddenly as she was stepping through the hole in the wall that she had no idea where Ichigo was being held. Rukia gripped her zanpaku-tō's hilt tightly; to search the whole Seireitei for Ichigo and find him in a reasonable amount of time was a stupid and far-fetched idea. The knowledge that he had just been in an explosion would normally be an extremely important point; but judging from the haze of smoke that pervaded the entire area, heading straight to the explosion would not be a viable option either. Rukia guessed from the thick blanket of smoke that there had been dozens, if not more, of bombs that had gone off in the Seireitei.

The next best option here would be to get a hold of some low-ranking shinigami and force the information, she quickly decided. Without straying too far from the entrance she made, Rukia investigated the nearest side streets and alleys, sticking close to the shadows. Her attempts proved fruitless; every shinigami she saw was running around in a group, and now was not the time to try and take on a whole squadron by herself.

Everything she could think of would take too much time, a precious commodity in this situation. And every second she stood in indecision was another second that Ichigo could be lying dying somewhere.

Before she could act upon any desire to save Ichigo, Rukia found herself frozen in place, mobility stripped from her by the appearance of a large reiatsu. A captain's.

Hitsugaya was, to say the least, surprised to see Kuchiki Rukia standing near the break in Seireitei's wall. Especially since he had sensed her following him the entire way here.

"Kuchiki, how the hell did you get here?" he demanded, hand flying instinctively to Hyouimaru's hilt.

Still stunned by the white-haired captain's sudden appearance, Rukia was unable to form a coherent reply.

"Well, I- you see… um, well-"

The confusion of the moment increased when a second Rukia landed beside the captain. For a moment the normally composed captain's incredible bewilderment showed on his features as he looked from one Rukia to the other. The impossibility of the scenario was almost enough to make his head explode. Things were rapidly spiraling out of his control; the situation had reached what he aptly deemed "shot to hell".

The second Rukia immediately took notice of her carbon copy and scowled. "Well, this certainly complicates things."

"What the hell is going on?" Hitsugaya demanded, pointing Hyourinmaru aggressively at the newcomer. Rukia's double looked at it disdainfully, annoyed by the captain's presence; she had hoped to find Rukia later and kill her quietly, but now that a captain was present…A thought occurred to her, and her scowl disappeared; maybe it would be best to have a captain turn traitor as well.

"Sorry, Q and A time is over." She smiled sinisterly. Feeling her guise had served its purpose well enough, she transformed once again into the prison guard. "See ya around!" He winked at them and then used shunpō to disappear into the surrounding turmoil. Hitsugaya was too shocked at what he had just witnessed to follow. Doing his utmost to dissemble his emotions, he turned his sword on Rukia. The real one, he was sure of now.

"Kuchiki, some answers would be excellent right now, for you and me," he said, as calmly as his frayed nerves would allow.

Rukia hardly paid him any attention. Her eyes were still focused intently on where the shape-shifter had been standing. "So that's who Ichigo was talking about," she muttered, remembering the warning he had given her in their conversation earlier. Almost instantly she was reminded of her initial purpose, thoughts of Ichigo in an explosion racing through her mind. Forgetting proper procedure – and her rank – Rukia confronted Hitsugaya directly, pushing his sword aside and grabbing onto his haori.

"Where's Ichigo?" she asked hurriedly, a frantic energy coursing through her.

Hitsugaya had, from previous dealings and encounters, known Rukia to be a very respectful and procedure-abiding shinigami. There was something in her eyes though, a certain edge to her tone that convinced him her improper actions were founded on valid reasons.

"Kurosaki was being held at my division's prison," he began deliberately, knowing the next part would not go over very well. "But now, Kurotsuchi-taichō is in charge of him-"

At this news Rukia's face blanched. Mayuri's questioning techniques were no secret to the Seireitei's inhabitants. Getting to Ichigo was now more urgent than ever; there was no telling what that crazed scientist could have done to Ichigo before the explosion.

Suddenly, both their heads turned, sensing a group of shinigami heading directly toward them. Without thinking, Rukia dragged Hitsugaya by his captain's haori into the shadows of one of the few intact buildings near them. As the squad ran past them, Rukia whispered fervently to the bedraggled captain.

"I apologize for my actions, Hitsugaya-taichō, but I came here to rescue Ichigo. I think you can see now that neither of us is responsible for the chaos here, so now you can either help me, or go report everything to the commander." From the directions of the wall they could hear the shinigami's exclamations as they found the breach. "I'm leaving now; what do you choose?"

Hitsugaya weighed his options. Duty told him to report back to the captains. But with the appearance of the shape-shifter…it was now clear, at least to Hitsugaya, that Ichigo and Rukia had been framed, for reasons as of yet unknown. However, trying to convince the commander of this, especially without any hard evidence, would be nigh impossible. He could be sure of Ukitake and possibly Shunsui siding with him, or at least listening to what he had to say. Maybe even Byakuya, although that was a very small maybe, but the rest would need more than his word. And bringing in Rukia would not be happening; she was too set on getting to Ichigo. Plus, if he did bring her in she would be incarcerated almost immediately, thanks to the events that occurred earlier. Perhaps once they found Ichigo…by then though, he reasoned, someone was bound to have seen them together, which brought around another risk, that he would then be seen as a traitor. If that happened, then all hope really would be lost. His last option, then, would be to find the real intruder and get him to reveal his identity in the presence of the other captains. And since he seemed to be targeting Rukia and Ichigo, it appeared logical that by staying with them Hitsugaya would have a better chance of confronting the shape-shifter.

This whole thought process lasted no longer than a few seconds. Having reached his decision, Hitsugaya looked Rukia straight in the eyes and told her decidedly, "Let's go get Kurosaki."

Ukitake was busy overseeing a group of low-ranking shinigami as they worked to put out a fire when he noticed the slight spiritual pressure rushing past. Turning his head quickly, he just barely caught a glimpse of a raven-haired shinigami and a white-haired captain flash by. From his perspective, it almost appeared she was dragging him along. Like a prisoner.

The captain grimaced. He hoped Hitsugaya knew what he was doing, because this was not going to look good for Rukia when he presented this to the other captains. At least when he went to repeat this, he could say that the young captain had been taken against his will.

"What are you doing Kuchiki," he muttered, brow creased, deeply worried for his subordinate. His gut told him – no, he _knew_ – that Rukia was innocent, but it would take more than that to clear her name.

Rukia and Hitsugaya had slowed down as they neared the jail. Shunpō was not exactly known for its observational abilities, and now was not the time to miss something. Both shinigami had done their best to suppress their reiatsu, and that coupled with the chaos around them had thus far allowed the two to race through the Seireitei's streets undetected. Well, as far as they knew, anyway.

They were so focused on getting to their destination as fast as possible that they almost missed their target, who happened to be running in the opposite direction.

Two steps. It took two whole steps before recognition hit Rukia smack in the face, two steps before Ichigo connected the small running form to that one he knew so well. They skidded to a stop simultaneously, which was impressive. However, Hitsugaya, being a few steps behind, did not find it to be so incredible. He did not see Rukia stop, and paid for his inattention by running into her, almost knocking her to the ground. But she was too fixated on the side street before her to be bothered with falling down; Hitsugaya lacked such focus and as a result fell on his rear.

A thick haze of smoke filled the narrow alley, making it nigh impossible to see through to the opposing end. Rukia held her breath, wondering if perhaps the stress of the situation was causing her to hallucinate and had just imagined feeling his presence rushing past. She hardly noticed Hitsugaya's picking himself off the ground next to her, had hardly noticed him run into her. All her energies were focused solely on the other end of the street, as if that action could cut through the smoke in front of her and create a window to the other side.

Shinigami were hurrying to and fro around them, but they neither noticed nor cared about the two black-clad figures standing at the alleys entrance, too focused on fighting the chaos of the fires raging in the Court of Pure Souls. Rukia and Hitsugaya paid them no attention as well; it was as if time had frozen.

Then, a small wind blew through the street, pushing the smoke towards them. Rukia threw up her arm, squinting to keep ash and other detritus out of her eyes. As quickly as it came, the wind died down, and she lowered her arm.

* * *

**Author's Corner:**

Hehe...cliff hanger...Ok, not really, but close enough. This chapter was originally supposed to be a wee bit longer, but I decided to end it here for dramatic effect.

Ok, so I'm not going to be holding this story for ransom, to be paid in the form of reviews, but I'm going to be honest here. The more reviews, the faster the next chapter will come out, simple as that. Your kind words fuel my inspiration! So feel free to leave a comment, question, whatever. I'm not picky.

P.S. - Has anyone read a Bleach/Zombie fic lately? Ever? It's been pressing upon my mind...Oh, and once again big thank you to Ichirukiforever123! Without your kind words, this story might have died.


	7. By Your Side

There he was.

Not an apparition, not a mirage; just Ichigo, in the flesh. Rukia's breath caught. She had finally found him.

Blood trickled from a small cut on his forehead, his robes were slightly tattered, and a mixture of dust and ash coated him, giving his face a deathly pallor and causing his normally vibrant hair to appear lackluster. Besides that he was great. Their eyes met and Ichigo smiled at her weakly.

Rukia ran. She could care less about propriety and decorum; he was there and that's all that matters. Everything was going to be alright. Even as she was running she realized how ridiculous it was to believe that just because they were finally reunited everything would fix itself. But for now that childlike belief was all she could manage.

Ichigo welcomed her with open arms – well, arm – and she returned the gesture by throwing her own around him, sword forgotten somewhere at the beginning of her run. Overcome with joy and relief Rukia buried her face in his chest; Ichigo did not complain.

"Thank you for not doing anything stupid," she said, her voice muffled by his robes.

The oblique insult flew right over Ichigo's dirty head; he probably would not have cared even if he had gotten it. Seeing Rukia safe was all that mattered to him. "You shouldn't be here," he murmured, trying to sound angry and failing completely.

"Well neither should you," Rukia countered. "But considering how we're both here, I guess it doesn't really matter."

Ichigo conceded to her logic. "Yeah, I guess so."

"So…this is new."

The reunited couple turned to see Hitsugaya staring at them, one eyebrow raised questioningly. In one hand he limply held Rukia's sword, which she quietly relieved him of.

Poor Hitsugaya. For all his genius, relationships were still a mystery to the young man.

"Ah, Toshirō!" Ichigo exclaimed, beaming openly at the young captain. "I'd love to explain, but we've gotta leave before you put me back in jail." Ichigo went to dash away but Rukia tugged him back forcefully.

"He's with us now," she explained, pulling Ichigo to her side. Already elated, this news made Ichigo quite ecstatic, and, as frequently happens to him in periods of extreme emotion, he forgot the situation they were found in. This made him more than happy to enlighten the captain on all the details of their blossoming love.

As he opened his mouth to speak however, the reality of their predicament came crashing down on them. Quite literally, actually, due to the building behind them exploding.

Instinctively, Ichigo pulled Rukia in protectively as they were thrown forward by the blast. A yelp of pain escaped his lips as his injured arm hit the ground hard. Debris rained down for a few moments, then they all slowly stood up, coughing dust up out of their lungs.

"I am so freakin' sick of these explosions," Ichigo muttered as he helped Rukia up. She could only nod in agreement, still too rattled from the blast to speak.

"We need to get out of here," Hitsugaya rasped, throat dry and sore from breathing in the smoke and dust. "Shinigami will be here soon, and-" he stopped abruptly, quickly realizing something.

"We can't hide. They'll be able to find you anywhere." His finger was pointed at Ichigo in an accusatory fashion. "You can't suppress your reiatsu to save your life, which is the point in this whole situation."

Ichigo's face fell, now self-conscious of his short-comings. It was not his fault, really. Only because he had never attended the Shinigami Academy…and you could not really expect him to pick up something like that on the battlefield. In spite of these well-reasoned excuses, embarrassment still colored his cheeks.

Thankfully, Rukia was already a step ahead. She had nearly forgotten the knapsack on her back, along with the technological treasure it contained, but now she swiftly slung it off, withdrawing the bag's contents.

The only thing left was a silver aerosol can. Its label had a cartoon picture of Urahara's face printed on it, clearly identifying the mastermind behind the product. The two men eyed it suspiciously.

"What is that?" Ichigo asked, unsure of anything with Urahara's face on it. Hitsugaya felt the same way.

"Well, in reality it's a spray-on wood varnish," Rukia told them, shaking the can and uncapping it. "But when applied to a soul, it conceals reiatsu. Urahara invented it," she added, as if that disclaimer explained everything. She held the spray can in the ready position, nozzle pointed at Ichigo. "Ok, now shut your eyes."

"Are you sure that'll work?" Ichigo was still doubtful; and for good reason. Urahara had not left him with a very reassuring track record. For all they knew, the spray was acidic and would vaporize him on contact.

"Kurosaki, you seem to forget the predicament we are in." Hitsugaya's voice was urgent; another patrol was heading their way. "I don't trust Urahara and his creations anymore than you, but we have no other choice at this point so shut up. Kuchiki, continue."

It was die by the spray or be captured – which would lead to death. Ichigo held his breath and shut his eyes tightly, preparing for the worst. Thankfully, nothing alarming happened. And even Rukia was surprised when she was finished. There was not even a sliver of reiatsu coming from Ichigo; Urahara had pulled through.

With a small grin, she turned to Hitsugaya.

"Alright, your turn."

* * *

Urahara would have been proud of how well his inventions worked. They had gotten Rukia out of the real world, into Soul Society, and now they allowed her, Ichigo, and Hitsugaya to hide mere feet from a whole squadron of shinigami.

"Remind me to thank hat-n-clogs when we get out of this," Ichigo said when the last soldier had filed past them.

"I told you those tools would be applicable to our lives," Rukia gloated.

It was like taking care of third graders. Hitsugaya was constantly having to keep the two on track. "Yes, yes, you're always right and he is consistently wrong. Can we keep moving? You do remember you are the two most wanted people in Soul Society, right?" For the past hour the three of them had been slowly making their way to the edges of the Seireitei, having to constantly hide from the many emergency squads that were being deployed in every direction. Close-calls had been abundant, but, incredibly, every time the trio had managed to go unnoticed.

Hitsugaya began walking away without waiting for a response. Seeing that they were being left behind, Rukia went after the captain, automatically grabbing Ichigo's hand to drag him along. Unfortunately, she came up with his right one.

Interestingly enough, it was the squishy consistency of his hand that made Rukia drop it like a diseased rat and not Ichigo's instantaneous yelp of pain. Hitsugaya jumped, putting a halt on his forward momentum and backpedaling into the alleyway.

"What the hell was that?" the captain hissed through clenched teeth. They would be lucky if no one had heard that; they would have to move even quicker now. The two looked at him, Ichigo gingerly holding his right hand in his left, Rukia's hands clapped over her mouth.

"Well, earlier, I kind of broke my hand, and then she touched it, and it hurt, so yeah-"

"Kurosaki-" Hitsugaya chuffed in exasperation. He was not sure how much longer he could handle these two. "I don't care how it happened, or when, or why. We are running for our lives right now, or have you forgotten?" Another patrol rushed past their hiding place, not giving the alley a second glance. Ichigo wanted to point this out, but kept silent. "When we get to a safe enough hiding place we can get it taken care of and we can exchange stories and have a nice chit chat. But for right now I need you two to shut up and follow me." And with that he turned and slipped out of the alleyway; Ichigo and Rukia scrambled to catch up.

The sun was setting, shining weakly through the haze of smoke that had settled over Soul Society. With the last dying light of the day, Hitsugaya led them to a deserted street in a remote corner of the Seireitei. Apparently, he told them, it had once been a part of the Eleventh Division, but under Zaraki's leadership the division's numbers had been significantly depleted and thus this area had fallen into disrepair. It was far from luxury, but it fit their needs for now.

They chose a barrack at random, finding it barren of any furnishings except the bunks that had been built into the wall. This did not bother anyone in the slightest; at this point they were all too tired to care.

The occasional shout could still be heard in the distance. Hitsugaya frowned; there were months of reconstruction ahead of them.

Ichigo collapsed onto a bunk near the rear of the building, wincing slightly from his injuries. Rukia slumped down beside him, Hitsugaya taking the bunk on the opposite wall. It was clearer now why the barracks had been abandoned; there was little more than six feet between the two rows of bunks. Poor design.

Briefly, Rukia shut her eyes, reveling in finally bring able to sit. It was disrupted shortly thereafter by another distant explosion. The building shook briefly, releasing a rain of fine dirt and dust, then all was quiet again. Rukia sighed, her respite over, and shifted herself to face Ichigo.

"Alright, let's see that hand."

Hitsugaya watched the process with interest, a grin of amusement twitching at the corners of his mouth. "Kurosaki," he said, after a brief moment of thought, "How did you end up doing that?"

"Yes, I'm also interested to know how you managed to shatter every bone in your hand," Rukia added with a wry smile.

Ichigo felt trapped between the two of them; he scowled.

"Well, I was trying to escape, and, you know, I, I punched a wall…"

Hitsugaya pinched the bridge of his nose. "Wait. You were trying to escape my jail," -Ichigo nodded- "and your best idea was to punch your way through?" Again, a nod, albeit more reluctant. Rukia bit her lip to keep from laughing. Hitsugaya shook his head in disbelief. "Kurosaki, have you ever even considered using that thick head of yours?"

Ichigo bristled with indignation. "I was under a lot of stress, ok? It seemed like a good idea at the time- gah! What the hell Rukia?" He rubbed his jaw where Rukia had just punched him.

"It's hard to concentrate with you complaining and jerking around," she replied without looking up. "This will all go much faster if you just shut up and be still." Pure, sweet silence greeted her; Ichigo had opened his mouth, but had quickly shut it, deciding it best not to start an argument. A fine line of sweat had broken out on Rukia's forehead, and he could see how hard this was for her to heal.

Things proceeded in relative silence until another distant boom prompted Hitsugaya to ask, "What the hell is going on? What is he trying to accomplish?"

Ichigo snorted derisively. "Damned if I know." He drew his brows inward, a deep crease forming. The captain was getting that look in his eye, and Ichigo had a sinking feeling another interrogation was coming up.

"So, what _do _you know about all this?"

"No, not again," Ichigo growled. "You've asked me this question a thousand times, and the answer is always the same: I don't know a freaking thing. One moment, I'm safe in my room, the next bang! That crazy ninja bitch kicks me in the face and I wake up to you, asking me questions. That is what I know."

Hitsugaya was a little taken aback by the man's outburst, but realized it was justified. By now it was obvious the two in front of him were the victims of severe identity theft. He decided it was time to take a different route.

"You're right, sorry. Can anyone validate your story?"

"Yeah; Rukia."

The young captain pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, attempting to relieve the pressure building in his head. "That's great, except for the fact that she's suspected to be working with you; of course she'll be able to say you were at home if you're criminals together." He exhaled loudly. "Is there no one else?"

They're silence was all the confirmation he needed. "Well this is excellent," Hitsugaya exclaimed sarcastically. "You're both wanted for multiple counts of murder, attempted murder, and general chaotic destruction. And let's not forget that two lieutenants are in critical condition, scores of shinigami are dead, and half the Seireitei is in ruins!" He sat back heavily, hands falling limply to his sides. "And they're going to put it all on you two. And now I'm with you." He muttered this last realization, "Damn, they're going to kill all of us."

Ichigo felt bad for the captain. By helping them, Hitsugaya had sealed his own fate. "But they don't have anything solid on us, right?" he said, attempting to lift the young man's spirits.

"If only." Hitsugaya's voice was weary. "Your reiatsu was found all over where Matsumoto was attacked, not to mention she said you did it. And two whole squads of shinigami saw Rukia kill Kotetsu and fight Sentarō, and then press the trigger to the bombs." Rukia cringed as Hitsugaya recounted the acts that had been done in her name. "Our only chance of a hope," Hitsugaya went on, "is to catch this, person, shape-shifter, whatever, and turn him in."

"Oh well, that'll be easy," Ichigo scoffed. "All we have to do is go shout our presence at the top of a building and the guy'll flock to us."

"And so will the rest of Soul Society." Hitsugaya shook his head. "They're out for blood, Kurosaki, and even if the ryōka shows up, no one's going to wait long enough for you, or anyone of us for that matter, to explain what's going on. And in the meantime, he'll have shape-shifted and escaped. We need a better plan."

Frustration pulled Ichigo's brows together. Plans just were not his forte.

"There, done." Rukia sat back and wiped the sweat from her face. Fixing Ichigo's shattered hand had been the most intensive healing she had had to do in a long time, thanks to Orihime's abilities; it had taken a lot out of her.

The respite from strategy was a welcome one to Ichigo. Experimentally, he moved and flexed his hand, enjoying the sensation of having it respond without pain. "It's not all the way healed," Rukia was quick to warn him. "I got the bones back together, but the hand itself is still weak. It's not the best, but it'll have to do."

Unable to think of a better way to express his gratitude, Ichigo took her face in his hands and kissed her gently.

"Thanks, Rukia."

Hitsugaya made a point to look elsewhere as the two shared a moment. Public displays of affection, amongst other things, made the captain feel slightly awkward.

After what he guessed was an adequate amount of time, Hitsugaya coughed loudly to get their attention.

"Oi, whaddaya want?" Ichigo responded, irritated.

"Well, we were attempting to form a plan in which we're not all killed, because we are on the run, a fact you seem to be consistently forgetting," Hitsugaya responded dryly. The captain felt better about his own discomfort when he saw Ichigo blush in embarrassment; Rukia arched her brow in amusement at the two men, too tired at this point to be chagrined.

Wishing to quickly move past the uncomfortable moment, Hitsugaya found himself once again bringing the conversation back on track. "I'm thinking that our best bet at finding this ryōka is to figure out his motive. Once we understand that, then it'll be easier to guess at what his next move'll be." When the two across from him said nothing, Hitsugaya sighed. Their blank stares spoke volumes. "Do you two even know what's happened?"

They shook their heads. "Not really," Ichigo said. "I just know what you told me – which was not a whole lot, by the way – and that people have died and buildings have exploded." Suddenly, he remembered about his prior encounter with the ryōka. "I can't believe I forgot this- the ryōka, he visited me in my cell, right before Mayuri came in." The memory of his near interrogation sent a shudder down his spine.

The information excited Hitsugaya. "Did he talk to you?" he pressed.

"Hell yeah, the creepy bastard." Ichigo quickly recounted what had transpired, Hitsugaya and Rukia listening intently. When he finished, Hitsugaya leaned back, processing the new information quietly.

"Ok, so this is what happened," Hitsugaya began. "This ryōka begins by attacking the men posted guarding the Twelve's warehouse. Then Matsumoto finds him, he attacks her, and disappears. While his whereabouts are unknown, Komamura and Soi Fon arrest Ichigo, and the humans are put under guard. There are eight days of no activity; probably, the ryōka was preparing and setting bombs, disguised as low-ranking shinigami. He then visits you-" he pointed a finger at Ichigo "-and talks to you. He says his only purpose is to create chaos within Soul Society, and the attempted theft was merely a ruse. After that, he disguises himself as you, Kuchiki, wounds Abarai, kills Kotetsu, injures others, and blows up half the Seireitei. In addition to all this, there is a large portal opening up outside of Rukongai; its origin is unknown." Ichigo and Rukia refrained from asking questions, allowing Hitsugaya to finish. "Then Rukia broke in, Ichigo was broken out, and the ryōka is now in hiding. And here we are, hiding from everyone."

He fell silent after the long oration. Even after piecing together the intruder's movements, Hitsugaya was nowhere closer to a solution. Neither were the other two; Rukia was nodding off and Ichigo was looking equally exhausted. Hitsugaya came to the unfortunate conclusion that they were all too tired to make any progress on a plan.

"We're not getting anywhere with this. Lets sleep, and we'll discuss more in the morning," he said, much to the relief of the couple across from him. Without further bidding, Rukia fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes. Ichigo looked pointedly at Hitsugaya, fighting sleep.

"Do you want me to take the first watch? You look tired."

"I look tired?" the captain raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Get some rest, Kurosaki. I'll get you up in a couple hours."

Secretly, Ichigo was relieved. The adrenaline of before had worn off, and exhaustion had taken up what seemed like a permanent residence. As the sweet embrace of sleep welcomed him with open arms, Ichigo wondered how he would ever wake up again.

Hitsugaya pulled his haori tighter around himself. Looking at the two across from him, an uncomfortable feeling stirred in the captain's chest; he shoved it down, but not before he recognized what it was. He would never admit it out loud, but Hitsugaya was jealous.

* * *

Tadaa! Look, I did it! Just, forget that part about me having it done whenever it was I said I'd have it done...but its done! (please don't hate me! D:)

Its like, as soon as one things finished, life juts its fat face in and says, "You forgot about this!" :D ...I hate life. And the infamous writer's block. That one gets me everytime. Oh well.

So, I'm going to try and do a helluva lot better of updating. This story and Jump, which has apparently become quiet popular (I think its funny how many people are all OHMAIGAWSH U KEELED ICHIGO IMMA GOONA BE SAD but come on, how can one have an IchiRuki story without Ichigo? He'll be back, no fear). I might even updated Jefferson Airplane, but for that to happen I'm going to need to watch James Bond or Mission Impossible or something.

So that's what's going down. Eventually. If you don't hate me too much, reviews are always loverly.


	8. Lost Kid

Please don't kill me. Beat me if you must. I keep breaking my promises to you!

(You want to know something real sad? I haven't been on FanFiction in so long, I forgot my password.)

EDIT: I added a little more to the end after thinking about it (now I am for reals writing chapter 9!).

* * *

Byakuya sensed Ukitake before he heard the captain's footsteps against the wooden walkway, rushing to catch up with him. The Kuchiki-head slowed his own pace; speeding up would only incite Ukitake to give chase.

"Ah, Kuchiki-taicho, mind if I walk with you?"

Resistance was futile at this juncture; Byakuya had been expecting this confrontation since the first attack. He shifted to the side of the walkway, allowing Ukitake to step up beside him and wordlessly consenting to the inevitable conversation.

The two captains had just been released from yet another meeting, another council of minds that had again failed to get a grasp on what was happening withing the Seireitei. The only thing they knew now for sure was that the immense portal outside the walls had stopped growing. Where it led was any ones guess; the Twelfth squad was working furiously to figure it out. Who or what started it, that was yet another question added to the growing list of mysteries. Needless to say, the meeting had proved quite fruitless, and the Commander had ordered sleep for all.

An imperceptible nod to an unnecessary question. The only thing in this direction was the emergency infirmary.

"I hear he's stable; Unohana-taicho is quite certain he will make it." Once again, unnecessary information. As the patient in question's captain, Byakuya was the first to hear updates on Renji's condition.

Ukitake saw the other captain quickly losing interest. He tried again to stir up conversation. "I'm going to see Sentaro myself. Not as drastically injured, of course, but Kotetsu-fukutaicho tells me he's suffering mentally; a visit from his captain would do him some good."

The attempt at conversation failed, thanks to Byakuya's stoic temperament. They lapsed into silence. Ukitake considered leaving it at that, but unfortunately there were other matters to discuss.

"What will you do, if she is brought in?" he asked quietly.

Byakuya had been dreading this line of questioning since Ukitake had started walking with him. He sighed inwardly. "If? I think it is only a matter of time before she - and Kurosaki - are brought in."

"That's true." Ukitake's concession was half-hearted. "Well then, _when_ they are apprehended, what will you do?"

"What I have always done; uphold the law."

"At the price of your sister's life? Even Aizen is still-"

"You know full well that the only reason Aizen is still alive is because of the hogyoku. Rukia knows full well what the consequences of her actions are; it is not my place to ask for an unreasonable pardon."

"But you don't really believe she would do those things, do you?" Ukitake looked over at Byakuya for the first time in the conversation, worried he was pressing the captain too hard.

"It doesn't matter what I believe, but what is the truth. That is the foundation of justice."

At this point they had reached the entrance to the hospital. The building was quiet at this time of night, the only sounds the low groaning of the injured convalescing. Byakuya turned to his companion, stiffly inclining his head in a slight bow, signaling the end of the conversation.

"My best wishes to Sentaro-san," he said.

"Thank you. And mine as well to Abarai-kun." The last sentence petered out into silence as Byakuya strode off. "Perhaps I was a little too forward," Ukitake murmured to himself as he began his own trek through the maze of makeshift beds.

Sentaro had his own small room near the edge of the sprawling hospital; the injuries to his arms had not been life-threatening, but his rank allowed him the small luxury of privacy as he was healing. Kotetsu Isane had taken charge of caring for him. The death of her sister had affected the two of them the most, and it was better to grieve together.

Ukitake entered the room without knocking. Sentaro would have told him to go away if he did.

"How are you?" Sentaro was sitting up in bed, staring listlessly out the window. Both shoulders were heavily bandaged, an IV running from one arm to pain killer. The regular beeping and ticks of hospital machinery filled the space between them as the captain waited for a reply.

"Hello, taicho," Sentaro said wearily. Bruised half-circles had formed under his eyes, and his face still showed traces of the fight. "I can't see the sky tonight...there's too much smoke."

A lone chair was situated beside the bed; Ukitake eyed it, but made no rush to occupy it. "You didn't answer my question."

"I'm fine. Kotetsu-fukutaicho said my shoulders will heal up good as new."

"Sentaro." Ukitake gave him a pointed look. His subordinate looked down, biting his lip.

"Its just- it- I should have been the one, it should have been me out there, on patrol, but she wouldn't, she said-" Sentaro broke down, tears coursing silently down his face in tiny rivulets. He looked up, meeting his captain's sympathetic gaze. "Why taicho? Why her? Why Kuchiki? I just don't understand!"

Ukitake placed a comforting hand lightly on the crying shinigami's shoulder, feeling the heaving sobs wrack his body.

He could find no appropriate words to assuage Sentaro's pain, so he kept quiet. They stayed like that until Sentaro was spent and no more tears fell.

"Thank you, taicho," Sentaro said as he wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand, grateful. Ukitake smiled at him, patting him lightly on the back. "Will there be a ceremony?"

"Yes, eventually." The captain stepped away from the bed, heading towards the door. "And Sentaro...don't blame yourself for this. No good will come from it." When Sentaro still looked unsure, he added, "And that's a direct order."

Sentaro smiled slightly. "Hai, taicho."

* * *

Byakuya waited at the foot of Renji's bed, patiently watching Hanatarou work. The young man took assiduous care in taking readings and recording everything on his clipboard. The whir and click of the machines blended with the scribble of the pen, though neither could breach the captain's ponderous cogitations. To say that the captain's presence was giving Hanatarou heart palpitations would be an understatement; Unohana had even warned the young man that Byakuya would be visiting. Even still, the presage had done nothing to quell his rising anxiety.

"Rikichi was by earlier," Hanatarou said, as if that explained something to the waiting captain. Byakuya remained silent, still quite lost in his thoughts. Hanatarou finished up quickly and left, bowing in deference to the captain as he passed. The door closed, and silence prevailed once again. Renji slept on, unconscious, unaware of the world around him.

The captain stood, statue-like, for a good amount of time, as if he were waiting for his vice-captain to wake up and apologize for allowing himself to get injured, as Byakuya knew he would. But it did not happen, so instead Byakuya spoke into the silence of the room.

"I'm sorry, Abarai, for what has happened to you. We're going - I'm going - to find out who is behind this, I will - " he stopped abruptly, frowning. "This is absurd. You can't hear me; talking to you won't solve anything." He turned to go, but Unohana's words came back to him. _It would be good for the both of you_, she had suggested with a tired smile at the end of their meeting.

Taking a deep breath, Byakuya turned back around and started again. "Everyone wants to know what I think, what I'll do when the time comes for my sister's trial. But- I don't know what I'm going to do.

"Justice, the law- it must be upheld. But at what cost? Truth is the foundation, and if we neglect it, then the law means nothing. The evidence is damning; but I also know my sister. She held you in the highest esteem. This attack...it just does not make logical sense. And even though Kurosaki is irreverent and disrespectful, this, this is completely out of character for him. It all just does not match up; there's something missing, a piece we don't understand, can't yet see." The captain pursed his lips. From across the room Renji's closed eyes stared back at him impassively, offering no answers.

The door behind him opened. Startled, Byakuya jerked his head around. Unohana stood in the doorway, a gentle smile gracing her features as always.

"Ah, Kuchiki-taicho," she said apologetically. "I'm sorry for disturbing you." She went to leave but Byakuya dismissed the apology with a wave.

"No, no, I was finished," he said. Still a tad uncertain, Unohana stepped further into the room. Byakuya had been shaken from his reverie and he now realized how absurd he must have appeared, talking to an unconscious man. An awkward silence lingered as Unohana walked toward the array of softly beeping machinery.

"To be honest, I'm surprised to see you here," she said, her back to him.

"Yes, well...I'm somewhat surprised myself. Earlier you seemed to think it would be beneficial."

"And was it?"

"...Yes and no."

Silence. With nothing more to say, Byakuya straightened his haori, cleared his throat as a precursor to his exit, murmured a goodbye, and left.

Unohana paused, waiting until the captain's footsteps had faded into nothingness; she exhaled loudly. Her brow furrowed in a very un-Unohana-like way as she stood over the slumbering Renji.

"A most unfortunate meeting," she muttered, reaching into her robes and pulling out a small bottle. Gracefully - if it could be called such - her body melted and metamorphosed into the preferred form of the ryoka, a nameless, unobtrusive shinigami. He chuffed out of annoyance. In one hand he held a vial of potent sedative; the other drummed listlessly at his side.

"Wrenches, wrenches, everywhere..." A pause; more thinking. "Always being thrown into the works - so how to proceed?" Originally, his intentions had been to eradicate the vice captain before him, finish what he had started. Now, however, with that chance run-in with that Kuchiki character...It was too early in the game to allow his presence to be detected.

Not that his chance meeting automatically revealed his existence to the rest of Soul Society. There was a very small probability that Kuchiki would even run into the real Unohana. He had made sure the medical captain was a safe enough distance away before coming here disguised as her.

The ryoka pursed his lips. Of course, perhaps it would have served him better to come in a different form; someone as prominent as the Fourth division's captain was sure to raise attention. Oh well, he though. Call it professional hubris.

Still thinking through the dosage of medicine to give the vice captain, the ryoka started rifling through the medical supplies at the side of the bed, searching for a needle. On the one hand, if he did kill Abarai Renji tonight, they may attribute it to his injuries. But then...Byakuya had seen him, and he would then talk with Unohana, who would tell him she had not come by that night, and then... Then they would know he was here. Or at least that something suspicious was going on.

He found the hypodermic and inserted it into the vial. Well, there was always the chance that the doubt would fall on Unohana herself - he quickly dismissed the idea. Framing Kurosaki was one thing; getting the Seireitei to believe one of the most respected and trusted captains was up to no good, well that would be nearly impossible to pull off on the spot.

Sighing, he filled the needle with a respectable, non-life-threatening amount. The vice captain would keep his life, for now; the ryoka just needed a little assurance that he would not wake up before his plan came to fruition.

The ryoka finished up, stowing the vial and syringe in his robes. He gave the slumbering Renji one last consideration, then slipped out the door.

He strolled down the corridor to the outside, whistling a low tune as he passed the injured shinigami, the damage he had created. It made him smile. Then he remembered how his plans had been disturbed by unforeseen circumstances. That made him scowl. Having to let the vice captain live truly irked him.

Outside air greeted his murky countenance as he exited the confines of the hospital. The sting of smoke in his lungs helped lift his spirits, reminding him of what he had already accomplished.

And of what was to come.

For the moment, he forgot about his failed assassination. Let Abarai Renji live for the night. In fact, he thought, feeling quite magnanimous, let the poor man live straight on through the morning.

Because, when the shit hit the fan tomorrow, it wouldn't matter anyway.

* * *

Darkness.

Then...Darkness again.

Matsumoto huffed. Opening her eyes had done nothing to change her perception of the world. She tried a different approach to the problem; in addition to opening her eyes, she twisted her head to the side, despite the stiffness in her neck. Much to her relief, blinking machinery lights could be seen next to her bed. Turning the other way, she could just make out the outline of a high window, back-lit by what could only be the moon.

Well, this is all well and good, she thought, returning her head to its original upright position, but where the hell am I?

Attempting to sit up was next on the agenda. No go. A white-hot pain tore through her abdomen before she could even get her shoulders off the bed. Frustration furrowed her brows. Next plan: calling out for assistance.

She opened her mouth. First attempt- too dry. A few seconds spent moistening her mouth and tongue. How long had she been here?

On attempt two she managed to make some form of noise, although nothing that even closely resembled any sort of coherent word. After a few more minutes of working through the consonants and vowels, remembering what it was like to talk out loud. Eventually she was able to manage a tremulous hello. _That was one weakass hello, _she could not help but think. She cleared her throat and was able to get some force behind her words.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

No answer. Where was that goddamn Hitsugaya when you needed him?

She tried sitting up again. She got a touch farther than last time before the pain got her. Progress, at least. Matsumoto waited until the pain subsided, then pushed herself as far up until the discomfort turned into a ripping feeling and she was forced to fall back.

"Fucking ridiculous," she gasped. "I am a vice-captain and I will sit up in this bed!" With one final heave she propped herself into a sitting position. "That's better."

From her new vantage point she surveyed the room, at least what she could she of it. Nothing new from before, except now she could make out the bottom of the door. Giving up her reconnaissance, Matsumoto instead inspected her battle wound. At least, she assumed it was from battle; she was having a hard time recalling anything from before her sleep. She tried her best not to touch it, after having just gotten over the last wave of pain. Matsumoto left it alone; she was sure Unohana had done a wonderful job patching her up.

But where was her captain? She pursed her lips, wondering where to go from here. Things were slowly coming back to her; a patrol, a late night, a battle, there must have been a battle...She sat bolt upright. That's it! Quickly, she tossed aside the sheets and sprang out of bed. Bad idea. Her legs collapsed under her. She grabbed at the nearest solid item - a chair - to steady herself.

"Shit!" she exclaimed, falling into it. "Am I going to have to learn how to fucking walk again?" She inhaled deeply, getting a hold of her quickly fraying nerves and pushing back the tears of frustration that were rising to her eyes.

As she continued to regain her composure, memories of her attack floated to the surface of her clearing conscious. Matsumoto steeled her resolve; she had to get to Hitsugaya. Her information held the key to everything.

She had to save them all.

* * *

Author's Two-Cents:

Um, so yeah. Its short (almost embarrassingly so. I've been gone this long and this is all you get? I feel like a jackhole). And so very, very late...I'm starting to realize just how handy an outline could be. Also knowing what the middle portion of my story will entail.

But, I'm going to be honest guys. I'm losing my fire for writing fanfiction. We all knew this day was going to come. I'm still going to finish this story, and Jump, for those who care (good god does that need help) (but we can all pretty much say goodbye to Jefferson Aeroplane (that was thought up under the influence of James Bond movies and would have proved disastrous, lets be honest)), but I really want to focus on my own original story. This, unfortunately, I cannot post here (lol because its ), however when I do decide where to post it, if you all still care enough I will let you know where that magical place will be.

On a side-note: HAVE YOU READ CHAPTER 459?1!j23IOFNUV4P? ITS SO FREAKING BEAUTIFUL.

On a double side-note: Do any of you keep up with the anime? Because I was watching it for kicks and gigs recently, and this filler came up and I was all, lolwut is that, but then I was watching and the plot line is EXACTLY LIKE THIS STORY (for the most part). But shinigami get attacked and Ichigo is blamed so they arrest him and Rukia bails him out! Little peeved they stole my story line, but whatever. Maybe it means they're reading this! Hello! I would love to work for you! I'll even do menial labor! Please?


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